Using science and technology to secure Singapore's food supply

SINGAPORE'S plans to invest more in science and technology to find solutions to tackle not only national but global challenges - from health, to sustainable cities and climate change - are commendable.

Of the three major thrusts in the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 blueprint - expanding critical digital capabilities, developing cell therapy manufacturing capabilities and starting a new chapter in the Singapore Food Story - the latter stands out because food security is a priority for any nation, given current concerns over climate change, land use and urbanisation.

For a small and densely populated city-state like Singapore, with more than 7,800 inhabitants per square kilometre, and neighbours that can occasionally be testy, it is necessary - indeed, exigent - to ramp up food production efforts in an innovative manner in the face of a projected rise in population and limited availability of arable land.

Singapore has set out a vision to achieve '30 by 30' - develop the capability and capacity of its agri-food industry to locally produce 30 per cent of the country's nutritional needs by 2030. To support this goal, funding of up to S$144 million will be allocated to carry out R&D in sustainable urban food production, future foods and food safety science and innovation.

As Singapore embarks on its food narrative, perhaps it can take a leaf out of the Netherlands, a tiny nation by European standards that has become an agricultural powerhouse using the world's most efficient agricultural technologies.

Two decades ago, the Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture to harvest "twice as much food using half as many resources". According to the National Geographic, they have cut dependence on water for key crops by as much as 90 per cent. They have also almost completely eliminated the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses, and reduced the use of antibiotics on poultry and livestock.

Like Singapore, the Netherlands is a small country, bereft of almost every resource necessary for large-scale agriculture. Yet with the aid of climate-controlled and precision farming, the Dutch has shown the world how to achieve higher yields per acre. Today, it is the world's number two exporter of food as measured by value, second only to the United States, which has 270 times its landmass. It is also the leading exporter of tomatoes, potatoes and onions and the second largest exporter of vegetables overall in terms of value. But beyond exporting agri products, it's their innovative technology and intellectual property (IP) that has become the single biggest contributor to Netherland's agri-food export earnings. For the Dutch, achieving their agri-food vision didn't come easy. It took a coalition of willing leaders to drive different thinking and initiatives to accelerate collaboration and technology adoption across the sector.

Similarly, for Singapore to attain its '30 by 30' agri-food goal, efforts must go beyond establishing a strong base of R&D capabilities. There must be collaboration between academia and entrepreneurs willing to invest in the new technologies. With the government throwing its support behind the vision, high-tech farming - currently something of a niche activity in Singapore - could yet grow, in stature and scope, to become an industry.

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