Opening of Growy's Indoor Vertical Farm - Dr Koh Poh Koon

WELCOME ADDRESS BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT DR KOH POH KOON AT THE OPENING OF GROWY'S INDOOR VERTICAL FARM ON 15 NOVEMBER 2024

Mr Ard van De Kreeke, Founder and CEO of Growy;

Mr Chris Devillers, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of The Netherlands in Singapore;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and gentlemen,

1 Good afternoon. I am delighted to join all of you today to celebrate the opening of Growy’s indoor vertical farm in Singapore.

2 This innovative facility signifies a notable advancement in sustainable agriculture and holds great promise for strengthening our food security in the face of food supply disruptions.

Bolstering Singapore’s Food Security

3 Food supply disruptions have become increasingly frequent due to various factors such as geopolitical tensions, disease outbreaks and climate change. As a small nation with limited resources, we import more than 90% of the food we consume on this island. It is impossible for us here in Singapore to be producing all the food that we need and it is also very difficult for us to insulate ourselves from any supply shocks that happen in other parts of the world.

4 In Singapore, we adopt a multi-pronged approach to secure our food supply and strengthen our food security. One of our strategies is to diversify import sources to avoid reliance on a single source. We currently import food from over 180 countries and regions.

5 Another key strategy of ours is local production. Our locally grown produce provides a buffer to the impact of supply disruptions. Given Singapore’s land constraints, currently only about 1% of land is set aside for agricultural use. This means that we need to optimise and intensify our agricultural land to grow more with less. Technology and innovation are key enablers for us to ‘grow more with less’, in a productive, climate-resilient and resource-efficient way. With technology, our agri-food industry can better maximise productivity amid our land and manpower constraints.

Growy’s Indoor Vertical Farm

6 Growy utilises various technologies and innovations in agriculture, serving as a very good role model for the types of farms we aspire to develop in Singapore.

7 Indoor vertical farms use a controlled environment of humidity and temperature to provide crops with optimal growing conditions. Unlike most vertical farms which set the same conditions for the entire growing environment, Growy has developed ‘Acclimatised Climate Cells’. This creates microclimates for different plant zones, tailored to the exact growing needs of different growth stages and different types of crops. Not only does this precision reduce unnecessary energy consumption, it also maximises crop yield.

8 The facility also employs a fully automated system to transport seedlings from the preparation room to 16 levels of growing space, and finally to the harvesting area. This innovation allows for a lean crew to operate the farm.

9 In farming, conserving water is crucial because it minimises resource waste and maximises returns for every drop used. This is why the air handling unit in the farm not only regulates temperatures, but also captures water vapour released by the plants during transpiration, condensing it into water. This reclaimed water is used as part of the chiller water, contributing to water conservation and reducing the energy needed to cool the facility.

10 With the adoption of technology and innovative ways to increase production, Growy’s vertical farm can potentially produce up to 500 tonnes per year on less than one hectare of land.

Support for Singapore’s Agri-Food Sector

11 While I am heartened by Growy’s entrance into our agri-food sector, the reality is that this nascent sector faces a challenging business environment. COVID-19 and post pandemic global developments has led to inflation and electricity price hikes, as well as a more challenging and muted financing environment. Farms looking to adopt technology also require high upfront capital. These are challenges which are quite pervasive, not just in Singapore, but also around the world as well.

12 The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and other government agencies support our farms in building up their capability and capacity, to bolster local food production and transform the agri-food industry into one that is highly productive, climate-resilient and resource-efficient. To address high start-up costs, SFA has rolled out various programmes and funding. We are happy that we have been able to support Growy with such funding support. New entrants can tap on the Agri-food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund which provides co-funding for our farms to adopt technology and expand production capacities and capabilities. To address rising energy costs, farms can also tap on the ACT Fund for energy efficiency audit support, to better understand their baseline energy consumption and identify areas for improvement.

Importance of Demand Offtake

13 While we work with the industry to ramp up local production, demand from consumers is equally important to sustain a healthy and vibrant agri-food ecosystem.

It would only make financial sense for farms such as Growy to increase production capacity when they are confident that there is demand for their produce.

14 SFA has launched several initiatives to help consumers easily identify and support local produce. One, the SG Fresh Produce logo. Consumers can easily recognise locally grown produce from the red and white logo on packaging in supermarkets. The red and white logo helps consumers to easily identify and support produce from farms that have been certified for quality assurance and sustainable farming practices. Another is our Farm-to-Table Recognition Programme. The programme recognises food businesses that use locally farmed produce. They can brand and market their businesses as being environmentally conscious, using fresher produce, and supporting Singapore’s drive towards a more sustainable and resilient food future.

15 Last year, the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation Limited, or SAFEF, took on the role of a demand and supply aggregator to support our agri-food industry. This aggregator arrangement facilitates longer-term contracts between farms and buyers, resulting in greater offtake of local produce. This arose from the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Local Produce Demand Offtake and Consumer Education, which brings together stakeholders from industry, buyers and producers and the rest of the HORECA sector together so that we can work together to increase local demand and offtake, as well as educate our consumers on better support for our local produce.

16 We have made good progress so far. In May this year, SAFEF, in partnership with FairPrice, launched a pilot to roll out dedicated local produce shelves to retail aggregated locally farmed Asian leafy vegetables and marine tilapia marketed under the “SG Farmers’ Market (SGFM)” and “The Straits Fish” brand, respectively. This is our way of increasing the visibility and accessibility of local produce at our supermarkets so that Singaporeans can better recognise what we are producing, and support local produce. Early results from the pilot indicate a consistent increase in the demand for locally grown vegetables, with xiao bai cai showing particularly strong sales growth. “The Straits Fish” has also seen good uptake.

17 I hope consumers and food establishments will now find it more convenient to buy local produce, and more will come on board to support our local farms.

Conclusion

18 Let me conclude. As we strive towards enhancing our food security, it is important to develop a robust agri-food ecosystem where the various stakeholders can collaborate effectively. Whether as producers, buyers, food processing businesses or consumers, achieving food security requires the collective effort of all parties involved.

19 Once again, I congratulate the founders and employees of Growy on the opening of your farm, and wish you continued success. Thank you.