Higher co-funding quantum and expanded scope in new S$60 million agri-food fund

A NEW S$60 million Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund will replace the Agriculture Productivity Fund (APF) which expired in 2020, said Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan at the Committee of Supply debate on Thursday.

The new ACT fund will launch later this year, and is established by Singapore Food Agency (SFA). It is designed to support the agri-food sector over the next five years to increase its productivity and achieve the "30 by 30" goal.

This goal refers to the nation's target of producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs through local farms by 2030.

Mr Tan said that the ACT Fund has been designed with several improvements over the previous fund. "It will better cater to farms of different scales and development needs, from startup to growth and expansion," he said.

He added that the new fund will have "higher co-funding and wider scope in support of farms that adopt advanced farming systems which improve productivity and resource efficiency".

The new ACT fund's higher co-funding quantum aims to accelerate the adoption of technology and advanced farming systems along the farm-to-fork value chain.

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The co-funding cap will be raised to S$4.5 million, up from S$2 million, under the APF in order to attract and cater to larger commercial-scale, automated and advanced farming technology solutions. This will cover a higher percentage of the farm's upfront investment cost, thus lowering potential financial risks of the farm.

The wider co-funding scope will also help to increase environmental sustainability of farming methods, and better cater to the needs of farms at different development stages.

There are three components under the funding scope - "Technology Upscaling", which provides co-funding support for the purchase of commercial-scale and advanced farming technology; "Innovation and Test Bedding" which provides co-funding support for farms to prototype or develop innovative farming technology; and "Capability Upgrading", which provides co-funding support for farms to procure approved equipment and systems.

Lim Kok Thai, chief executive officer of SFA, said the new fund will help provide further support for farms to overcome land and resource constraints.

"Not only will this contribute to our food security, it will create good jobs such as agriculture and aquaculture specialist roles for our people," he said.

A total of S$43 million was awarded to 118 farms as at December 2020, under the APF.