All kum gong kernah played out by the PAP-Gov advocating their ranjiao ambitious “30-by-30” goal of producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.
So how? Guess who is paying for all these startup failures with subsidies?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/big-read/high-tech-low-returns-farming-4684566
(Illustration: CNA/ Nurjannah Suhaimi） 19 Oct 2024 09:30PM(Updated: 20 Oct 2024 02:33PM)
These days, when wide-eyed entrepreneurs in Singapore approach agri-tech consultant Lionel Wong for help with starting their vertical vegetable farming business, his advice tends to be: “Don’t do it.”
Not that Mr Wong lacks passion for the business. The co-founder of Upgrown Farming has been in the agriculture industry for over a decade, years before the nation touted its ambitious “30-by-30” goal of producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.
In that time, he has seen his fair share of startups dive into the high-tech farming hype, only to drag themselves out of the soil with their pockets significantly lighter.
Without a large amount of capital, very few are able to come up with a business model that allows them to survive, Mr Wong believes.
He told CNA TODAY: “(High-tech) farming is not the devil here, it’s just a tool – and knowing how to use this tool is the responsibility of the business owner.”
In high-tech farming, science and technology are often integrated to replicate natural environments while optimising growth conditions, allowing farms to grow more food faster, better and with less.
It has been heralded as a key pillar in growing local produce in land-scarce Singapore.
However, despite millions of dollars allocated to various funds, grants and research and development (R&D) programmes to grow the nation’s nascent agricultural industry, it does not appear to have yielded the desired tangible output.
The proportion of locally grown vegetables and seafood has dropped for two consecutive years, with only hen shell egg production bucking the trend slightly.
Furthermore, clouds of doubt have gathered over once-promising developments in vertical farming — the system of cultivating crops in vertically stacked layers.
Local indoor farm I.F.F.I closed its mega 38,000 sqm facility in Tuas in April 2024. Shortly after, VertiVegies scrapped plans to construct its indoor farm in Lim Chu Kang. Sky Greens is also scaling down its operations, with many of its greenhouses reportedly torn down.
Worldwide, vertical farm startups with once-high valuations such as Agricool, Kalera and Aerofarms have also faced heavy losses and filed for bankruptcy, in part due to unsustainable business models. Venture capital investments into the agri-tech space have fallen by 60 per cent since late 2021.
In the aquaculture space, things have not gone swimmingly either for local firms.
Barramundi Group, which sold 9.5 per cent of locally produced fish in 2020, stopped stocking its three ocean-based farm sites with juvenile fish in June 2023 due to a deadly fish virus outbreak.
Compounding the bleak mood surrounding the local farming scene are reports that Singapore’s fourth egg farm, IFH, may be reconsidering the viability of setting up its operations here.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in response to CNA TODAY's queries that it has been working closely with IFH to help it set up the farm.
There was also recent news that developmental work for the Lim Chu Kang masterplan — an initiative to redevelop about 390 hectares of land there into a high-productivity agri-food zone — has been delayed.
But there are also bright sparks — businesses that have managed to succeed by either carving a niche for themselves or diversifying their revenue streams by going beyond just selling produce.
Mr Ray Poh, the founder of local indoor farm Artisan Green, for instance, said his firm consistently rolls out products with more demand than supply in the market, like baby spinach, leading to a sustainable business.
They have broken even on their vegetable farm and are in the midst of building a bigger one in Sungei Tengah which will be operational in 2025.
Nonetheless, such encouraging stories are few and far between, raising questions whether Singapore can create a viable high-tech agricultural sector that will help reduce its reliance on food imports.
As 2030 looms over the horizon, CNA TODAY looks at why it is difficult for agri-tech firms here to succeed, and the role that high-tech farming can play in Singapore’s ongoing quest for food security in the future.
------------------------
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna...allenge-singapore-farms-30-food-vision-515836
One is the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA’s) S$63-million Agriculture Productivity Fund. It is meant for farmers to invest in more innovative systems that can boost their yield, for example under a scheme — capped at S$50,000 — for the purchase of equipment.
There is also a scheme for farmers to convert their farm into a more high-tech farming system.
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So how? Guess who is paying for all these startup failures with subsidies?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/big-read/high-tech-low-returns-farming-4684566
With several farms closing or struggling to break even, what is the future for agriculture in Singapore?
Without a large amount of capital, very few agriculture startups are able to come up with a business model that allows them to survive. It may be time to reassess the role that high-tech farming can play in Singapore’s ongoing quest for food security.
(Illustration: CNA/ Nurjannah Suhaimi） 19 Oct 2024 09:30PM(Updated: 20 Oct 2024 02:33PM)
These days, when wide-eyed entrepreneurs in Singapore approach agri-tech consultant Lionel Wong for help with starting their vertical vegetable farming business, his advice tends to be: “Don’t do it.”
Not that Mr Wong lacks passion for the business. The co-founder of Upgrown Farming has been in the agriculture industry for over a decade, years before the nation touted its ambitious “30-by-30” goal of producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.
In that time, he has seen his fair share of startups dive into the high-tech farming hype, only to drag themselves out of the soil with their pockets significantly lighter.
Without a large amount of capital, very few are able to come up with a business model that allows them to survive, Mr Wong believes.
He told CNA TODAY: “(High-tech) farming is not the devil here, it’s just a tool – and knowing how to use this tool is the responsibility of the business owner.”
In high-tech farming, science and technology are often integrated to replicate natural environments while optimising growth conditions, allowing farms to grow more food faster, better and with less.
It has been heralded as a key pillar in growing local produce in land-scarce Singapore.
However, despite millions of dollars allocated to various funds, grants and research and development (R&D) programmes to grow the nation’s nascent agricultural industry, it does not appear to have yielded the desired tangible output.
The proportion of locally grown vegetables and seafood has dropped for two consecutive years, with only hen shell egg production bucking the trend slightly.
Furthermore, clouds of doubt have gathered over once-promising developments in vertical farming — the system of cultivating crops in vertically stacked layers.
Local indoor farm I.F.F.I closed its mega 38,000 sqm facility in Tuas in April 2024. Shortly after, VertiVegies scrapped plans to construct its indoor farm in Lim Chu Kang. Sky Greens is also scaling down its operations, with many of its greenhouses reportedly torn down.
Worldwide, vertical farm startups with once-high valuations such as Agricool, Kalera and Aerofarms have also faced heavy losses and filed for bankruptcy, in part due to unsustainable business models. Venture capital investments into the agri-tech space have fallen by 60 per cent since late 2021.
In the aquaculture space, things have not gone swimmingly either for local firms.
Barramundi Group, which sold 9.5 per cent of locally produced fish in 2020, stopped stocking its three ocean-based farm sites with juvenile fish in June 2023 due to a deadly fish virus outbreak.
Compounding the bleak mood surrounding the local farming scene are reports that Singapore’s fourth egg farm, IFH, may be reconsidering the viability of setting up its operations here.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in response to CNA TODAY's queries that it has been working closely with IFH to help it set up the farm.
There was also recent news that developmental work for the Lim Chu Kang masterplan — an initiative to redevelop about 390 hectares of land there into a high-productivity agri-food zone — has been delayed.
But there are also bright sparks — businesses that have managed to succeed by either carving a niche for themselves or diversifying their revenue streams by going beyond just selling produce.
Mr Ray Poh, the founder of local indoor farm Artisan Green, for instance, said his firm consistently rolls out products with more demand than supply in the market, like baby spinach, leading to a sustainable business.
They have broken even on their vegetable farm and are in the midst of building a bigger one in Sungei Tengah which will be operational in 2025.
Nonetheless, such encouraging stories are few and far between, raising questions whether Singapore can create a viable high-tech agricultural sector that will help reduce its reliance on food imports.
As 2030 looms over the horizon, CNA TODAY looks at why it is difficult for agri-tech firms here to succeed, and the role that high-tech farming can play in Singapore’s ongoing quest for food security in the future.
------------------------
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna...allenge-singapore-farms-30-food-vision-515836
PRODUCTIVITY PLATFORMS AND PITFALLS
To further help with productivity, the government has made several grants available since 2014. At least three are targeted specifically at the agriculture industry.One is the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA’s) S$63-million Agriculture Productivity Fund. It is meant for farmers to invest in more innovative systems that can boost their yield, for example under a scheme — capped at S$50,000 — for the purchase of equipment.
There is also a scheme for farmers to convert their farm into a more high-tech farming system.
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