Singapore approach: how a small country revives agriculture on 1% of farmland

Singapore approach: how a small country revives agriculture on 1% of farmland

Singapore is four times smaller than Moscow (its area is only 730 km²). Farmland occupies less than 1% of the land, and the share of the agricultural sector in GDP is a meager 0.03%. Water supplies are also limited here. To feed its 6 million inhabitants, the country imports more than 90% of food.

About eight years ago, the Singapore authorities were puzzled by the question: how to reduce the country’s food dependence on exports? Climate change contributes to droughts and floods, disrupting supply chains. The pandemic and political instability around the world have only heightened concerns. Today we talk about what the Singaporeans came up with in the end and why they succeed.

But first, a little background

In Singapore, not everything has always been bad with agriculture. In the 1960s, 10% of the inhabitants worked in agriculture, and farms occupied 25% of the territory. Local farmers provided the country with 60% vegetables, 90% meat, and 100% eggs. At some point, Singapore even began to export pork itself.

But in 1959, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew came to power. Thanks to him, a poor, backward country turned into a prosperous state with one of the highest GDP per capita. Singapore has taken a course on large-scale industrialization.

Rivers have become reservoirs, farm fields have become industrial zones or residential areas. In 1984, the country stopped producing pork. The area of ​​farmland has rapidly declined from 25% in the 1960s to 10% in the 1970s.

Today, Singapore’s agriculture is practically undeveloped; about 1% of the land is cultivated on an already small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe country.

Singapore’s new plan

At the beginning of 2019, Singapore set itself the ambitious goal of producing 30% of its food needs by 2030. The program was called “30 to 30”. For comparison: today Singapore produces 8% of the vegetables consumed by its residents and 8% of the meat.

In 2021, the country’s authorities said that two things needed to be done to fulfill the plan: optimize the space for the needs of farmers and fund the development of technological solutions. Let’s talk more about these methods.

Singapore approach: how a small country revives agriculture on 1% of farmland

Parking farms on rooftops, or where do Singaporeans find places to farm?

With so little land, Singaporeans are really forced to be creative. In order to replenish the domestic market with food, the government of the country also set its sights on one of the “monuments” of Singaporean urbanization – multi-storey car parks, the roofs of which are now being turned into “vertical farms”. In 2021, the Food Agency of Singapore announced tenders for the development of parking spaces, with preference given to vertical farms using the Internet of things and automated climate control. Parking lots in Singapore are large, so the average rooftop farm can produce up to 500 kg of greenery per day.

Who does Singapore give money to?

In 2020, Singapore introduced a $30 million 30×30 express grant scheme. The government funds up to 85% of the cost of high-performance farming systems projects that can be designed and put into operation in 6 to 24 months. For example, in 2021, the money was given by the Kalera company, which is building one of the world’s largest vertical farms in Singapore: more than 15 meters high and capable of producing more than 500 tons of vegetables per year. The Agro-Food Cluster Transformation Fund provides grants totaling $60 million until 2025.

State company Temasek is a key investor in agricultural technology. It ranks fifth in terms of venture capital in the AgTech segment. For example, the investment firm gave money to the manufacturer of vertical farms Bowery Farming (participant in the investment round for $300 million), the manufacturer of “smart” equipment for irrigation systems Rivulis Irrigation (purchase of 85% of the shares in the amount of $365 million), the manufacturer of alternative milk Perfect Day (participant in the investment round for $350 million ). Temasek’s investment in agrotech has quadrupled since 2015.

Singapore approach: how a small country revives agriculture on 1% of farmland

Singaporean accelerators are not far behind. Singapore’s GROW Accelerator was included in the rating of the eight largest accelerators by Active Accelerator Funds. This is a 12-week training program that includes up to $120,000 in financial support.

In 2007, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alliance and the National Research Foundation of Singapore launched a joint venture called SMART (The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology). For MIT, SMART is the only research center outside the US and the largest international program. Scientific activities are fully paid by the government of Singapore.

In December 2020, Singapore became the first country in the world to allow the sale of lab-grown meat. Test-tube chicken from Eat Just was sold to consumers. One of Eat Just’s investors is Temasek.

Singapore is a unique testing ground for agrotech solutions. The rest of the world can follow the results of the national experiment and draw conclusions, trying on the agrotech perspective for themselves.

VOLVO