Speech by SMS Zaqy Mohamad - Committee of Supply 2026

Mr Chairman,

Introduction

1. I will speak on our approach to strengthen food resilience. As a country heavily reliant on imports, we are particularly vulnerable to external shocks and supply chain disruptions. Over the past five years, Singapore’s food supply has been repeatedly tested by events beyond our control. During COVID-19, there were concerns that countries’ COVID measures would lead to food supply disruptions, such as eggs. In 2022, Malaysia’s ban on the export of live chickens disrupted their supply to Singapore. More recently, the disruption in pork supply from Bulan, Indonesia in 2023 due to an African Swine Fever outbreak further highlighted our vulnerabilities. Each time, we managed to tide through the disruption with the collective support of our importers, retailers and consumers who switched to alternative options.  

2. We must stay prepared for rising geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions which could disrupt our food supply. The latest chain of events in the Middle East only underscores this global climate of uncertainty. We also need to manage our risks from animal diseases, which add to further pressure on global food supply and global prices. As a longer term risk, we must be able to adapt to climate change, such as extreme and erratic weather which affects crop yields globally.

3. This is why we need to build options and flexibility to deal with the different types of disruptions – whether they affect single or multiple food items, single sources or entire regions, and whether they last for days or months. We have learnt many lessons from our 30 by 30 initiative. While it had successfully catalysed local production growth, mainly focusing on one pillar – Grow Local - left us vulnerable to the very disruptions that we sought to address. What have we learnt? A single-pillar approach, no matter how ambitious, cannot provide the food supply resilience that Singapore needs.

4. This brings us to the Singapore Food Story 2, or SFS2, which Minister Grace Fu announced in November last year. It includes four pillars – Diversify Imports, Grow Local, Stockpile and Global Partnerships - this enables us to tap on different combinations to address different crisis scenarios, and to strengthen our overall food resilience.

Unpacking Singapore Food Story 2 and the four pillars

5. But first, what does it mean to achieve “overall food resilience”? Food resilience means ensuring Singapore has reliable access to our basic needs – ensuring that during disruptions, there is still food on the tables, on our shelves and meals remain as familiar as possible to Singaporeans. It will not always be possible to have everyone’s favourite food and brand available, in every disruption. I think we have to accept that. We will prioritise staples like rice, proteins, and vegetables. Like any insurance policy, we must be strategic about what we protect and how we protect it. This approach allows us to provide food assurance where it matters most, whilst managing our risks responsibly.

Diversify Imports

6. The first food pillar is for industry to Diversify Imports. This means importing our food from multiple sources and building up alternative sources. Doing so reduces the impact when there are disruptions to particular sources, helping us to stabilise our food supply. And also it makes it easier to pivot to alternative sources, when needed.

7. The Government will support the industry by accrediting new sources, for food of higher food safety concern such as meat and eggs; helping our local food importers with business matching, and safeguarding supply stability by establishing regionalisation agreements with key sources. When disease outbreaks happen, we don't just shut down supply from entire countries - we get more precise. Our regionalisation agreements allow us to continue importing from disease-free areas within affected countries. For example, during Brazil's Avian Influenza outbreak last year, we maintained poultry imports from accredited farms in unaffected regions rather than restricting the import of all Brazilian poultry. We will continue to facilitate accreditation and explore regionalisation arrangements with suitable sources.

Global Partnerships

8. Diversification alone is not enough and has its constraints. For example, importers may need to buy from sources that are not necessarily the cheapest. So we have to also strengthen the resilience of existing food supply chains by working with like-minded countries and regions. This is where Global Partnerships, our newest pillar, comes in. Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked how we assess whether our Global Partnerships can support diversification. As shared in Parliament last month, partnerships can take various forms such as facilitating production overseas, in addition to having Government-to-Government arrangements and agreements. For such partnerships to be meaningful and sustainable, they must be win-win. This will look different for the various partnerships. As the MP has mentioned, recent examples include the two memorandum agreements on rice trade signed with Vietnam and Thailand last year, and this helps us ensure a stable rice supply to Singapore, and provide an avenue for Singapore to activate additional rice supplies when needed. The joint study with Brunei on the feasibility of an Agri-Tech Food Zone, or ATFZ, in Brunei will explore how both countries can leverage our respective strengths to enhance agri-food trade and food supply resilience, starting with aquaculture.

9. When the next disruption hits, we don’t want to be scrambling for alternatives. We want to have pre-established channels, tested protocols, and trusted partners who are ready to respond. This transforms crisis management from reactive scrambling to proactive deployment. We will continue to explore mutually beneficial agreements with like-minded economies to strengthen our food supply resilience.

Stockpile

10. Chairman, even with our efforts to reduce the likelihood and impact of a disruption, it is still possible that we could face widespread disruptions where food cannot reach our borders for some time. This is why we stockpile essential food items such as rice. It gives us the time and breathing space to restore our food flows and sustain our population. As shared in this House in November last year, since Covid-19, we have expanded our stockpiles to include frozen protein and canned vegetables to cover all three food groups – carbohydrate, fibre and protein. We will continue to work with the industry to stockpile more effectively.

Grow Local

11. Moving on to Grow Local. Grow Local remains an important pillar of our food resilience strategy.  Stockpiles are finite and imports can be disrupted. Local farms can provide us with a regenerative source of fresh food that is maintained even during prolonged disruptions. More of our farms are moving towards controlled environments which makes them more climate-resilient and land-efficient.

12. Ms Poh Li San asked about the lessons learnt from failed local farms and Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked about Singapore’s role in alternative protein. We must first recognise that most of our farming industry is nascent and in an early phase of growth. It will take them time to develop viable technologies and business models. We must also take a practical approach with what we can grow locally in a sustainable manner. It would be neither efficient nor possible to locally produce every food item that we have today on our plates. Hence, for our refreshed local production targets under Singapore Food Story 2, we are focusing on fibre and protein types that are feasible to be produced at scale efficiently in Singapore. These are fresh leafy and fruited vegetables such as xiao bai cai and tomatoes, beansprouts and mushrooms for fibre; and eggs and seafood for protein. These goals take into account the strengths of our local farming eco-system, and the potential for growth in supply. 

13. We also have to be realistic about the economics. Our local farms will always face higher land and production costs compared to farms from the region - that's simply our reality. The situation is no different from how Singapore differentiates from low-cost alternatives in other industries like manufacturing – improving our value-add, bringing higher-productivity and cost-efficiency – with Government’s support to invest in capability and capacity development.

14. But here's what we have also learnt on the demand side. Consumers and large buyers like supermarkets are willing to pay a reasonable premium for fresher, pesticide-free local produce that comes with guaranteed supply certainty. What this means is they want consistent supply at scale, so the key is thus getting our farms to the right scale and cost structure. Take our local egg industry – it has achieved this balance, with local production making up more than 30% of our total consumption.
    

15. Ms Lee Hui Ying and Mr Cai Yinzhou asked how we will support and promote awareness of our local farms. We are helping farms to increase productivity and reap economies of scale, build capabilities, strengthen supply resilience of agri-inputs, and enhance demand offtake. 

Help farms to build capability - Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund 2 and technology demonstration projects for aquaculture sector 

16. The first tranche of the Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund, launched in 2021, has shown that Singapore farms can transform into advanced farming operations that are of higher yield, more pest- and disease- resilient and increasingly, climate-resilient too. Since its launch, we've awarded $55 million to nearly 150 projects. The Fund has enabled both agri- and aqua-farms to adopt everything from simple, small-scale technologies like LED grow lights, automated feeders and automated irrigation systems that reduce manual labour, to large-scale farming systems in climate-controlled environments that guarantee year-round production regardless of the weather. Take SAT as a good example of this transformation. Using ACT Fund support, instead of adopting conventional open cage fish farm technologies, they deployed a closed containment aquaculture system, or CCAS. What’s the outcome? They now operate at three times the productivity of conventional sea-based fish farms, and face lower risk from environmental hazards such as algal blooms. CCAS technology is still nascent and requires industry readiness. Thus, to Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin’s question, it will take time for the local industry to adopt systems such as CCAS and SFA will continue to support farms who are keen and ready for this transition. Another beneficiary of the ACT Fund is Yili Farm who upgraded their cultivation systems to optimise layout, improve crop protection, and integrate with their centralised nursery and irrigation system. This enabled faster crop cycles, and a 20% increase in productivity.

17. These developments give us confidence to enhance the Fund to support our farms further. Today, I am announcing a new tranche of funding of $70 million under the ACT Fund 2. This will be made available from April 2026, over 5 years, and it represents our largest industry scheme to date to support technology adoption and local agriculture capability and capacity building.

18. At the same time, we will introduce a new funding component – the Industry Partnerships for Capability Transformation Grant. This is in response to feedback from the industry on the need for collaborative approaches to tackle common challenges such as limited economies of scale and supply chain inefficiencies. This new scheme will co-fund strategic partnerships between farms and ecosystem players, on the development and deployment of industry-wide solutions, that can support multiple farms. Examples include farms and industry players collaborating on an integrated delivery system which streamlines the processes from farm to market, reducing transportation costs and improving product freshness. 

19. For the aquaculture sector, we will support both sea-based and land-based farms to adopt newer technologies to improve productivity and consistency of output through demonstration projects. One example is the automated vaccination of fingerlings which can reduce labour intensity. Successfully demonstrated technologies can subsequently be adopted by the industry via the ACT Fund 2. 

Strengthen supply resilience of agri-inputs

20. Beyond technology, quality agri-inputs, such as eggs, fingerlings and feed, are fundamental to the success for aquaculture.

21. Today, farms source a majority of their fry and fingerling from overseas sources with less consistent quality and lower survival rates due to the long transport stress. In November 2024, we introduced the National Broodstock Centre (or NBC) and Hatchery Development and Recognition Programme (or HDRP) to supply our farms with high quality eggs and fingerlings, with higher survival and grow-out rates. The NBC produces disease-free broodstock that commercial hatcheries then develop into high quality fingerlings under strict biosecurity standards. For farms, this translates directly into better profitability. These premium fingerlings grow faster, survive better, and convert feed more efficiently - meaning farms reach market quicker with lower feed costs and fewer losses. We started out with Asian Seabass and have since successfully expanded into Marine Tilapia. Five hatcheries have been recognised under the HDRP and can now access quality seabass eggs and marine tilapia brooder fingerlings from the NBC. This year, we will expand our national breeding programme to include Red Snapper, and work towards industry-led efforts to increase the supply of Whiteleg shrimp larvae and grouper fingerlings.

22. High-quality eggs and fingerlings set the foundation, but the health and nutrition inputs determine whether farms achieve optimal growth and disease resistance. SFA's new Integrated Hatchery Support Programme (or IHSP) will help local hatcheries adopt specialised feeds and quality vaccines that maximise the growth potential of the high quality fry or fingerlings. This will be done through demonstration trials to build farm’s confidence in investing in better quality input.

23. Together, the NBC, HDRP and IHSP create a reinforced aquaculture value chain for both sea-based and land-based farms that improve fry quality, increase yields, and sharpen competitiveness. 

Enhancing demand offtake

24. Our offtake programmes have been making progress for the food types that matter most to Singapore's food resilience - and we aim to do better.

25. Central to this effort is SAFEF, which has become the critical demand aggregation engine that matches our farms' production capacity with local market needs. Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked about the effectiveness of SAFEF’s demand aggregation efforts. SAFEF has created sustainable brands like "The Straits Fish" and "SG Farmers' Market" now stocked in major supermarkets - FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage, and Giant, bringing local produce closer to the community. Public response has been encouraging. For example, the sales for Xiao Bai Cai under the “SG Farmers’ Market” brand have increased about sevenfold since its launch in May 2024. We are expanding the demand aggregation model in 2026 with more product varieties and The Straits Fish marine tilapia ready-to-eat products. SAFEF will also partner more F&B players to integrate SG Farmers' Market® product range in their menus.  This effort aims to facilitate farms’ mainstream market penetration by connecting retail demands with a fragmented local farm supply chain due to our small agriculture sector. In aggregated offtake programmes, we give farms the sales certainty they need to scale production. At the same time, supermarkets and hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) are given the confidence in a guaranteed reliable local supply for them to commit shelf space and marketing support. 

Early warning systems and preparedness 

26. The effectiveness of our Singapore Food Story also depends on our readiness to respond swiftly to disruptions. SFA is strengthening early warning systems to provide greater lead time for action. Our new risk monitoring dashboard and food supply visibility tool, developed with PSA BDP, provides early warning of developments that may affect food imports and strengthens upstream food supply chain visibility. This tool has already proven its value - it expedited our risk assessments during Brazil's Avian Influenza outbreaks in May last year, and the recent conflict in the Middle East.

27. For aquaculture, we are upgrading our Harmful Algal Bloom Prediction Model to integrate forecasted weather conditions for more accurate environmental predictions. This will alert farms ahead of anticipated events so they can implement mitigation measures like aeration or emergency harvests to minimise stock losses.

28. Together, these initiatives strengthen SFA's ability to assess, plan, and mitigate supply disruption risks before they impact Singapore's food resilience.

29. I thank Mr Foo Cexiang for his suggestions on our food pillars. Strong supply chain logistics are indeed a critical backbone for resilience. We will continue to work closely with relevant agencies and industry, including to consider your suggestions. 

Conclusion 

30. Chairman, building Singapore's food resilience requires all of us to move beyond individual interests and act with collective urgency. The Government will continue to do our part – be it investing in the ACT Fund 2, expanding the National Broodstock Centre, creating offtake programmes with SAFEF, and strengthening early warning systems. But we cannot secure our food future alone. 

31. I hope that businesses do more to support our local food production and our overall Singapore Food Story 2 efforts. Diversify your supply sources and commit to local production as a strategic buffer. Supermarkets should expand local produce shelf space, restaurants should join our Farm-to-Table Recognition Programme, and food manufacturers should partner with SAFEF to develop local supply chains. When you choose local suppliers, you're helping to invest in Singapore's food resilience that will protect your business during the next major disruption or major pandemic scenario. For consumers, your choices shape our collective resilience. Choose local produce even if it costs slightly more and be more flexible with our food choices during crises and shortages. That premium we pay for local produce is our insurance for reliable food supply when things fail.

32. Chairman, our founding fathers understood that Singapore's survival depends on collective action over individual interests. As our founding Prime Minister often said, we must leave nothing to chance when it comes to Singapore's survival.

33. Today, we apply that same principle to food resilience with the Singapore Food Story 2 - building comprehensive resilience through collective action, because our food future is too important to leave to chance alone.

34. Thank you.