Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit (Singapore International Agri-Food Week) - Ms Grace Fu

1. Good morning, and a warm welcome to the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit 2025.

2. The Summit serves a common purpose for all of us here – to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and push the boundaries of what is possible for our food systems.

THREATS TO FOOD SUPPLY RESILIENCE 

3. Given climate change and geopolitical developments, countries are increasingly vulnerable to global shocks and disruptions in our food supply. In recent years, we have seen how a single event could send ripple effects through the global market, disrupting the supply of food on our tables. The Russia-Ukraine conflict showed this clearly.  It is happening miles away from Singapore. Yet, by disrupting the global supply of fertilisers and animal feed, the conflict indirectly triggered export restrictions on food items in Singapore.

4.  This is why food supply resilience has been a major concern for many countries, including Singapore. We have been looking ahead to anticipate new risks and stay resilient in an ever-changing world.  

5. Six years ago, we embarked on the “30-by-30” vision for a grow local strategy to build food supply resilience. We acknowledged that this was a challenging aspiration given our small and undeveloped agri-food sector, our limited land resources and high operating cost environment. Yet building up local production was necessary to provide an assured and regenerative source of food during supply disruptions. Together with other pillars of our food strategy, it gives us more options and flexibility in times of need. Collectively, that was the Singapore Food Story strategy.

6. Since then, we have had to deal with the impact of supply disruptions caused by border closures due to COVID-19, export bans by some countries and animal diseases. Over the years, we have gained resolve to secure our food supply. We have made progress in building our food security and gained experience in growing the industry. We have strengthened import diversification, increasing the number of import sources that importers can tap on. We have expanded our stockpiles. We have also been putting in place the building blocks to grow the local agri-food sector. These include planning for land and infrastructure, supporting ecosystem growth through the adoption of technology and better farming practices, and encouraging offtake of local produce.

SINGAPORE FOOD STORY 2 

7. We are now ready for the next chapter of our food security plan – the Singapore Food Story 2. Singapore Food Story 2 aims to bring about overall food resilience – ensuring we have sufficient food supply in times of disruption. It replaces “30-by-30", which is an aspiration only for local production. We can complement local production with other food strategies to achieve food resilience. We have re-assessed our needs, our resources, and our capabilities. And with these considerations, we are expanding our portfolio of strategies. To better respond to the increasing interconnectedness in agri-food trade, we have also further developed a fourth pillar on “Global Partnerships”.

GROWING LOCAL

8. First, growing local. It remains an important pillar of our food security plan.

9. Since we began in 2019, we have made progress. Locally produced hen shell eggs and beansprouts now contribute more than 30% and 50% of local consumption, respectively. Productivity of our farms has improved. From 2019 to 2024, the productivity of our farms increased by 10%, 17% and 50% for vegetables, seafood, and eggs, respectively. Farms which managed to innovate and harness technology have adapted and grown.

10. Our local agri-food sector, like their peers in other countries, has faced headwinds – supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures on energy and manpower costs, and a tougher financing environment. This has led to delays in farm development and some exits, even as we witnessed new start-ups.

11. Another grow local segment, the alternative protein industry, has faced hurdles in scaling up due to higher production costs and weaker than expected consumer acceptance globally.

12. Drawing from our experience over the past five years, we have re-assessed our local production strategy to be more targeted. Previously, under the 30-by-30 strategy, we had aspired to develop the capability and capacity to produce 30% of our nutritional needs. But this did not mean that we had to produce every food item on our plates. That would be neither efficient nor possible in land-scarce Singapore.  For example, we did not grow rice as it was very land intensive and not feasible to do so in Singapore. Likewise, under our revised targets, by 2035, we aim to have our local farms supply: 20% of our local consumption of fibre, which refers to fresh leafy and fruited vegetables, beansprouts and mushrooms; and 30% of our local consumption of protein, which refers to eggs and seafood.

13. These goals take into account the strengths of our local farming eco-system, and the potential for growth in supply. 

14. At the same time, our local production efforts for fibre and protein will be complemented by other pillars such as import diversification and stockpiling. We will also rely on these pillars to ensure the supply resilience of food types that we do not produce, such as rice and protein such as poultry. I will elaborate on these strategies later. 

15. With this new focus on local production, we will sharpen our strategies. First, we will help our farms manage production costs. Our farms face rising operating costs. While we cannot control energy costs and global inflation, we can help our farms lower production costs by taking the following steps.

16. We are studying the feasibility of developing a pilot multi-tenanted facility for agri-food production, which for a start could be Government-owned. This facility could offer farms plug-and-play tenanted spaces so that they can reduce start-up costs and capital needed; common utilities and shared services which could lower production costs; indoor production facility with controlled environments that will offer greater climate resilience and reduce business risk of our farmers. Such projects will help intensify the use of our limited agricultural land, although we will continue to make land and sea space available through the Government Sales. 

17. Second, fund our farms in building capability. Technology and innovation are enablers that boost farm productivity, build resilience and be future-ready. Our Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund provides co-funding for local farms to adopt farming technologies and upgrade their capabilities. As of 31 October this year, more than $40 million has been awarded to 135 projects. These projects range from manpower-saving technologies like automated irrigation and dosing system to climate-resilient technologies like Controlled Environment Agriculture system. We will continue to conduct research and development through the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme, for which over $300 million has been made available, including for research in aquaculture and agriculture. Some notable achievements include improved fish feeds that have boosted fish growth by 25%; new vaccines that have halved disease mortality rates; genetic editing in crops like choy sum and kale that has improved yield by 20%; and smart sensors in crop production systems that have enabled real-time crop monitoring and pest control.

18. Third, strengthen supply resilience of our inputs. Last year, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) launched the National Broodstock Centre, and the Hatchery Development and Recognition Programme to produce superior eggs and fingerlings for Asian Seabass and Marine Tilapia. Four local hatcheries have obtained recognition under the Programme. We plan to expand the Programme to red snapper. In addition, we plan to work with the industry to expand the local supply of quality eggs and post-larvae for grouper and shrimp, respectively. These locally produced farming inputs will help to raise grow-out rates, disease resistance and production yield. By fostering collaboration among research institutions, suppliers, and growers, we will develop a stronger eco-system for resilient farming inputs.

19. Fourth, enhance offtake. Our growers need demand offtake to be commercially viable. Besides raising greater awareness for local produce through our marketing and outreach efforts, we will continue to work with the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (SAFEF) to facilitate offtake from local farms. Over the last one and a half years, SAFEF has successfully aggregated local produce. The “SG Farmers’ Market” and “The Straits Fish” are now sold at all major supermarkets. Sales for Xiao Bai Cai under the “SG Farmers’ Market” brand have increased about sevenfold since its launch in May 2024. Moving forward, SAFEF will be expanding the range of “The Straits Fish” brand to other seafood including Asian seabass and shrimp. Besides retailers, SAFEF will also market its aggregated local produce to the Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers sector. Restaurants such as Joy of Fish in Joo Chiat and Coriander Leaf offer local produce options on their menu.

20. These strategies will require time and hard work to succeed. The Government will work closely with the industry and consumers to support local production.

DIVERSIFYING IMPORTS

21. Diversifying our import sources is the second pillar of the Singapore Food Story 2. Over the years, we have strengthened our food supply networks by partnering industry and other Governments around the world to find new sources. Today, our importers leverage on our strong trade connectivity to import food from over 180 countries and regions. We facilitate B-to-B links between our local importers and overseas suppliers through sourcing trips and accreditation of new country sources. I encourage our importers to maintain a diversified network of suppliers for business continuity planning considerations. Your efforts will help us to collectively reduce our source concentration and improve our agility in sourcing in times of need.

22. On our part, the Government will strengthen our safeguards for supply. We will continue to streamline our accreditation processes and explore regionalisation arrangements with suitable sources. Doing so will allow us to continue our food imports from unaffected areas, in the event of disease outbreaks in one country. This arrangement has helped us avert disruptions in poultry supply when Brazil had a bird flu outbreak in May this year. We could continue to import Brazilian poultry from farms that were not located in areas affected by the disease outbreak, thus averting supply disruptions and avoiding price fluctuations while ensuring food safety. 

STOCKPILE

23. The third pillar of our food security plan is stockpiling. We have been building up our capacity to stockpile essential food items. This is done in close partnership with the private sector as they bring business efficiency to what is a national security imperative. 

24. One of the commodities that we stockpile is rice. Rice is a food staple that is difficult to produce locally given the land and resources needed. We have expanded our stockpile items to frozen protein and canned vegetables since COVID-19. 

25. We are working with the industry to stockpile more effectively, while developing new capabilities in warehousing and logistics practices. 

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

26. The fourth, and new pillar, is to establish deeper global partnerships in ensuring food security. Global partnerships are more essential now, as supply chains face the risk of fragmentation. 

27. We will strengthen G to G relations with like-minded countries to safeguard flows of food to Singapore. Singapore and New Zealand concluded substantive negotiations on the Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies last month, providing assurance that both sides can continue to receive essential supplies, including important food items, during supply chain disruptions. Both countries also established a Strategic Food Partnership, which aims to build resilient agri-food systems, drive food science and innovation, and facilitate agri-food trade. We have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Rice Trade with Vietnam just a few days ago. As a major rice producer, Vietnam has been our major trading partner. We have now taken this further by providing an avenue for Singapore to activate additional rice supplies from Vietnam in times of need. We are also exploring other international partnerships to boost our food security and will share more information when ready. 

WE CAN EACH PLAY OUR PART

28. We must take food security seriously given the increasing global uncertainty and risks. Strengthening our food resilience is a whole-of-society effort. While the Government continues to strengthen our food pillars, industry and consumers also play a part. For the industry, this could be actively exploring new sources of food and tapping on local produce to further diversify your supplies. For consumers, your choice matters. Flexibility with our food options makes us more resilient. We can also support our local farmers by purchasing local produce and dine at food businesses that use Farm-to-Table produce.

CONCLUSION

29. As the global food supply landscape evolves, our refreshed approach in the four pillars of our food story – growing local, diversifying import sources, stockpiling and global partnerships – will provide better assurance that future generations of Singapore will continue to have a resilient supply of safe food. 

30. As we look towards the future, strengthening our food supply resilience will require more than just reinforcing what we already have – it calls for us to learn from experience, innovate, and take collective action. Together, let us write the next chapter of our Singapore Food Story.

31. I wish you all a fruitful and engaging time at the conference. Thank you.