WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF HIGH-TECH FARMING?
While the problems faced by high-tech farms here do not bode well for the sector, some industry players said it is unrealistic to expect Singapore to be an agri-tech powerhouse within a short span of time.
Others, like Dr Paul Teng, professor and adjunct senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, believe that Singapore should acknowledge its limitations and double down on its strategy of strengthening and diversifying its supply chain of food imports instead.
SFA said in response to queries that the nation’s “key strategy” to enhance its food security is indeed import source diversification –Singapore has increased its food supply sources from 183 countries or regions in 2022 to 187 in 2023.
It added that it is committed to support the local agri-food sector to build its capability and capacity to produce food locally, which will mitigate the volatility and impact of global food supply chains.
Dr Farshad Shishehchian, the co-founder of Blue Aqua International, said that the nation’s nascent industry, coupled with its unique limitations in size and regulations, creates complex problems for farm owners.
For one thing, ordering supplies is more difficult here. “If I need a pump, a paddle wheel or an automatic feeder for my farm in Thailand, I can just walk to the market and get it. Here, it’s a headache to do so,” he said.
Despite this, business has been doing well, according to Dr Farshad.
The company, which was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Singapore, currently owns four farms internationally, including one land-based “super intensive” shrimp farm in Singapore.
Dr Farshad said the company has also invested S$35 million in building the first RAS trout farm in the Asia Pacific – here in Lim Chu Kang – which is scheduled to be completed by mid-2025.
“Our (existing) farm in Singapore has been very profitable because we have a different approach and a different customer portfolio,” he said. “We value our shrimp at a much higher price point than the rest of the market because we produce quality shrimp.”
In September 2024, local agri-tech startups Sustenir Group and NextGen Farms announced that they were bought over in a US$20 million deal and merged by United Arab Emirates-based Future Food Foundry, in a move the companies said “aims to address urban food challenges that require economies of scale”.
Likewise, Sustenir’s chief executive Jack Moy said that they differentiate themselves from the rest of the market by focusing on high-demand premium crops like kale and spinach using targeted technology.
Sustenir currently produces between 200 and 300 tonnes of produce annually, but with the merger and construction of a new fully-automated farm factory in Sungei Tengah underway and expected to be completed by early 2025, Mr Moy said the firm would be able to produce up to 1,500 tonnes annually.
He added that they were targeting for their business to break-even by the end of the year.
But even among those who have not quite reaped the harvest, some strongly believe that the future of food sustainability will inevitably involve tech-enabled farms.
Ms Lim of GroGrace said that the consequences of climate change, water scarcity, degradation of soil and destruction of biodiversity, clearly indicate that open-field farming will not be sustainable in the long run.
That is why she is a huge advocate of indoor farming.
“Even if people say that it’s not practical or too expensive, we have no choice. We have to learn how to grow indoors now, because when you’re in the middle of a food crisis, it will be too late.”
On the aquaculture side, Dr Eichelberger of Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT) shared similar views.
SAT, which was established since 2012, owns floating platforms off the eastern coast of Singapore that produce sea-farmed fish using closed containment tanks. It farms about 200 tonnes of fish in a year at present, but that number will soon scale up to about 750 tonnes, said Dr Eichelberger.
Like GroGrace, Dr Eichelberger said the firm is not “fully out of the woods” in terms of its bottom line, but added that it had managed to get an injection of funds in the past few months.
Though the chief executive acknowledged the difficulties in convincing potential investors, he remains steadfast in his belief that patience is required when it comes to food sustainability here.
“It’s a long-term vision; the world needs to be fed,” he said.
“The justification for all this technology (in farming) is that you become more productive at the end of it, and we think (technology) is the key to reach these productivity gains.
“Innovation might not be as fast as in other sectors, but you need the willingness to have a long-term approach. So that means sufficient funding when you’re developing those solutions.”
The consensus among those in the agri- and aquaculture scene is that the high-tech systems used can generate produce in a productive manner.
What is left, Mr Poh of Artisan Green said, is to “research and reduce the input costs and scalability of these techniques”.
He cited Singapore’s water story as an example that high-tech farming can emulate.
“Decades ago, desalination was deemed an impossible method due to its high cost. However, after years of research and development, it has now become a viable method to produce safe drinking water,” he said.
“In order to gain food resilience, we have to be a resilient nation to support and gather around innovative companies to steer them to success.”
