SINGAPORE: Farmers in Singapore are not surprised by the government's move to drop the country's “30 by 30” food security target for a new road map.
The 2019 goal aimed to produce 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030 to buffer against global supply disruptions.
Six years on, however, more than 90 per cent of the nation’s food is still imported.
Farmers cited a triple whammy of soaring operating costs, land scarcity and tepid demand for local produce – despite government grants and millions poured into research, technology and innovation.
They believe that the goal can still be met – but only if short-term policies are implemented.
Domestic demand for Singapore-grown seafood and vegetables fell in 2024. This was despite multiple campaigns, retail promotions and initiatives such as the SG Fresh Produce label, which sought to raise awareness among buyers.
Many farms have bowed out, hit by rising labour and utility costs. Since October 2024, nearly one in 10 land-based farms have closed, leaving 138 still operating – down from 153 just a year earlier. Many that remain have cut output.
Even high-tech vertical farms, once seen as the solution to Singapore’s space crunch, are struggling to stay afloat.
At agri-tech farm Vegeponics, manpower costs have risen by 50 per cent and electricity bills have doubled since 2022. While installing solar panels helped cut energy use by about 30 per cent, the company is now eyeing expansion across the Causeway.
Even high-tech vertical farms, once seen as the solution to Singapore’s space crunch, are struggling to stay afloat.
"By moving over to Malaysia, not only do we save three times the cost, we also save more energy and manpower costs,” said general manager Jesper Fan, who plans to export vegetables back to Singapore.
Urban farms have also not been spared. At Edible Garden City, founder Bjorn Low said the company had to dismantle seven hydroponic containers at its Queenstown site due to high electricity bills.
Doing so reduced the farm’s energy use by 60 per cent, which was a significant amount at a time when the farm’s selling prices were not competitive compared to imported vegetables, said Mr Low.
The farm has since shifted to growing native food plants in soil – a more sustainable approach. But the company’s nine-year lease expires at the end of this year, and renewal talks are ongoing.
“For a soil farm, it takes probably six to seven years to establish the foundation of fertility in the soil and productivity … and by the time it's fully at its productive stage, you have to move. That can be very challenging for a lot of the farms who, if they are not multi-generational, might call it quits,” said Mr Low.
Edible Garden City had to dismantle seven hydroponic containers at its Queenstown site due to high electricity bills. The farm has since shifted to growing native food plants in soil – a more sustainable approach.
The same pressures are rippling through aquaculture. Several fish farms have closed, citing limited space, rising costs, and sea pollution that cause fish deaths.
Today, there are only 67 sea-based farms – around a 30 per cent decline from 98 in 2023.
This is despite nearly S$40 million (US$30.6 million) pumped in from 2020 under what was called the “30 by 30 express grant” to support farms producing eggs, veggies and fish. Since 2021, another S$25 million has been channelled to farms to help them upgrade technology and boost productivity.
Today, there are only 67 sea-based farms – around a 30 per cent decline from 98 in 2023.
Beyond farms, the government also set aside hundreds of millions into food innovation and alternative proteins, such as lab-grown meat, with mixed results.
Cultivated meat pioneer Eat Just, the first to sell cultivated chicken here, paused its Singapore operations in 2024 amid high costs and funding pressure. Meanwhile, Shiok Meats has merged with Umami Bioworks, which remains active and focused on research and development.
Mr Mihir Pershad, Umami Bioworks’ founder and CEO, said that Singapore makes a great test market due to its “eclectic set of restaurants and food culture”.
“But trying to go to larger-scale production can prove quite challenging, because it takes time to build market awareness and consumer acceptance,” he noted.
He added that partnerships with universities and polytechnics are vital to building the next-generation workforce and driving foundational research to make cultivated products taste better and cost less.
The government also set aside hundreds of millions into food innovation and alternative proteins, such as lab-grown meat, with mixed results.
Under the government’s refreshed food-resilience strategy, local farms are now expected to meet 20 per cent of Singapore's fibre needs, and 30 per cent of protein meats by 2035.
But the revised targets do not mean that the original goal was a failure, analysts said.
Professor Veera Sekaran, from the Regenerative Agritech Centre at the National University of Singapore, described the earlier target as “aspirational” – at a time when regional tensions put food security under the spotlight, drawing many into the sector who “had very little agricultural knowledge and not enough expertise”.
It resulted in farms experimenting with different methods, and few sharing knowledge or technology.
“Everyone wanted to do it on their own … wanted to have proprietary knowledge. There was no collaboration. There was no ecosystem that came together to make this farming community an ecosystem that allowed them to do well together, not as individual farmers,” he told CNA's Singapore Tonight programme.
Energy prices, manpower shortages and land lease constraints compounded the problem. The Ukraine war sent utility costs soaring, leading to energy-hungry indoor farms shutting down, said Prof Veera.
But he insisted that the 30 by 30 goal was not a failure in that it has done well in raising awareness of food security.
“We've started a journey that is still growing and evolving as we go across, and we should get better and better. Everything that's failed is not bad, because we learn from technology.”
For Mr Luke Tay, founder of future readiness consultancy Cornucopia FutureScapes, the recalibration is a pragmatic pivot for Singapore to “double down” on its strengths.
“This shifting of the time scale and focus now on fibres and proteins is prudent because it's in line with what we can deliver, not just technologically, but economically,” he added.
He pointed to tangible gains such as higher productivity in eggs, aquaculture and leafy greens, as well as stronger regulatory and research capacity.
“Productivity per land area, that's the important measure in our land-scarce country, has actually gone up,” he said.
Singapore has also levelled up in the science of regulation of new foods and in building up an R&D and knowledge ecosystem.
He highlighted that it would be a matter of time before the technology for alternative proteins like cultured meat becomes “scalable, affordable and ready to go to market” - provided consumers are “socialised” to these new foods.
Mr Tay added that one key gain from the 30 by 30 push was a deeper understanding of the entire food value chain – the inputs that make production possible.
For instance, industry players are producing their own seedlings for crops and fingerlings for aquaculture, he said. This enables them “to do the growing within our borders … that's true food sovereignty to a certain measure”.
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The 2019 goal aimed to produce 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030 to buffer against global supply disruptions.
Six years on, however, more than 90 per cent of the nation’s food is still imported.
Farmers cited a triple whammy of soaring operating costs, land scarcity and tepid demand for local produce – despite government grants and millions poured into research, technology and innovation.
They believe that the goal can still be met – but only if short-term policies are implemented.
FALLING DEMAND, RISING COSTS
Domestic demand for Singapore-grown seafood and vegetables fell in 2024. This was despite multiple campaigns, retail promotions and initiatives such as the SG Fresh Produce label, which sought to raise awareness among buyers.
Many farms have bowed out, hit by rising labour and utility costs. Since October 2024, nearly one in 10 land-based farms have closed, leaving 138 still operating – down from 153 just a year earlier. Many that remain have cut output.
Even high-tech vertical farms, once seen as the solution to Singapore’s space crunch, are struggling to stay afloat.
At agri-tech farm Vegeponics, manpower costs have risen by 50 per cent and electricity bills have doubled since 2022. While installing solar panels helped cut energy use by about 30 per cent, the company is now eyeing expansion across the Causeway.
Even high-tech vertical farms, once seen as the solution to Singapore’s space crunch, are struggling to stay afloat.
"By moving over to Malaysia, not only do we save three times the cost, we also save more energy and manpower costs,” said general manager Jesper Fan, who plans to export vegetables back to Singapore.
Urban farms have also not been spared. At Edible Garden City, founder Bjorn Low said the company had to dismantle seven hydroponic containers at its Queenstown site due to high electricity bills.
Doing so reduced the farm’s energy use by 60 per cent, which was a significant amount at a time when the farm’s selling prices were not competitive compared to imported vegetables, said Mr Low.
The farm has since shifted to growing native food plants in soil – a more sustainable approach. But the company’s nine-year lease expires at the end of this year, and renewal talks are ongoing.
“For a soil farm, it takes probably six to seven years to establish the foundation of fertility in the soil and productivity … and by the time it's fully at its productive stage, you have to move. That can be very challenging for a lot of the farms who, if they are not multi-generational, might call it quits,” said Mr Low.
Edible Garden City had to dismantle seven hydroponic containers at its Queenstown site due to high electricity bills. The farm has since shifted to growing native food plants in soil – a more sustainable approach.
FISH FARMS, LAB-GROWN FOODS STRUGGLE
The same pressures are rippling through aquaculture. Several fish farms have closed, citing limited space, rising costs, and sea pollution that cause fish deaths.
Today, there are only 67 sea-based farms – around a 30 per cent decline from 98 in 2023.
This is despite nearly S$40 million (US$30.6 million) pumped in from 2020 under what was called the “30 by 30 express grant” to support farms producing eggs, veggies and fish. Since 2021, another S$25 million has been channelled to farms to help them upgrade technology and boost productivity.
Today, there are only 67 sea-based farms – around a 30 per cent decline from 98 in 2023.
Beyond farms, the government also set aside hundreds of millions into food innovation and alternative proteins, such as lab-grown meat, with mixed results.
Cultivated meat pioneer Eat Just, the first to sell cultivated chicken here, paused its Singapore operations in 2024 amid high costs and funding pressure. Meanwhile, Shiok Meats has merged with Umami Bioworks, which remains active and focused on research and development.
Mr Mihir Pershad, Umami Bioworks’ founder and CEO, said that Singapore makes a great test market due to its “eclectic set of restaurants and food culture”.
“But trying to go to larger-scale production can prove quite challenging, because it takes time to build market awareness and consumer acceptance,” he noted.
He added that partnerships with universities and polytechnics are vital to building the next-generation workforce and driving foundational research to make cultivated products taste better and cost less.
The government also set aside hundreds of millions into food innovation and alternative proteins, such as lab-grown meat, with mixed results.
Related:
WAS ‘30 BY 30’ GOAL UNREALISTIC?
Under the government’s refreshed food-resilience strategy, local farms are now expected to meet 20 per cent of Singapore's fibre needs, and 30 per cent of protein meats by 2035.
But the revised targets do not mean that the original goal was a failure, analysts said.
Professor Veera Sekaran, from the Regenerative Agritech Centre at the National University of Singapore, described the earlier target as “aspirational” – at a time when regional tensions put food security under the spotlight, drawing many into the sector who “had very little agricultural knowledge and not enough expertise”.
It resulted in farms experimenting with different methods, and few sharing knowledge or technology.
“Everyone wanted to do it on their own … wanted to have proprietary knowledge. There was no collaboration. There was no ecosystem that came together to make this farming community an ecosystem that allowed them to do well together, not as individual farmers,” he told CNA's Singapore Tonight programme.
Energy prices, manpower shortages and land lease constraints compounded the problem. The Ukraine war sent utility costs soaring, leading to energy-hungry indoor farms shutting down, said Prof Veera.
But he insisted that the 30 by 30 goal was not a failure in that it has done well in raising awareness of food security.
“We've started a journey that is still growing and evolving as we go across, and we should get better and better. Everything that's failed is not bad, because we learn from technology.”
Related:
For Mr Luke Tay, founder of future readiness consultancy Cornucopia FutureScapes, the recalibration is a pragmatic pivot for Singapore to “double down” on its strengths.
“This shifting of the time scale and focus now on fibres and proteins is prudent because it's in line with what we can deliver, not just technologically, but economically,” he added.
He pointed to tangible gains such as higher productivity in eggs, aquaculture and leafy greens, as well as stronger regulatory and research capacity.
“Productivity per land area, that's the important measure in our land-scarce country, has actually gone up,” he said.
Singapore has also levelled up in the science of regulation of new foods and in building up an R&D and knowledge ecosystem.
He highlighted that it would be a matter of time before the technology for alternative proteins like cultured meat becomes “scalable, affordable and ready to go to market” - provided consumers are “socialised” to these new foods.
Mr Tay added that one key gain from the 30 by 30 push was a deeper understanding of the entire food value chain – the inputs that make production possible.
For instance, industry players are producing their own seedlings for crops and fingerlings for aquaculture, he said. This enables them “to do the growing within our borders … that's true food sovereignty to a certain measure”.
Related:
Continue reading...