Budget 2021: S$60m Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to support technology adoption

The government will put aside S$60 million for a new Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to support technology adoption in the agri-food sector.

This fund will replace the existing Agriculture Productivity Fund, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday.

More details will be shared by Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate, said Mr Heng.

In his speech, he pointed to technology as a game-changer which will open new possibilities to combat the effects of climate change. On its part, Singapore is already using technology to tackle water and land constraints.

For example, under the Cities of Tomorrow Research & Development programme, researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the HDB spearheaded the development of an Integrated Environmental Modeller.

This is a tool that studies wind, solar irradiance, shading as well as environmental noise to forecast how these will affect thermal comfort for residents. Urban planners are using this modeller in the planning of the new Tengah Housing Estate.

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Mr Heng said that urban solutions and sustainability will be a key area under the government's Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan as Singapore invests in research that will help to build a more sustainable and liveable environment.

For instance, the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence - which received funding support from the Agriculture Productivity Fund - has been able to produce 20 times more output than a typical coastal fish farm, thanks to the use of advanced aquaculture technologies. This has helped with food reliance, which is in line with Singapore's goal to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030, said Mr Heng.