As part of the government’s efforts towards achieving long-term food security, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has set up a $30 million grant to help local farms accelerate their production of eggs, leafy vegetables and fish.
According to the agency, these are the three of the most commonly consumed food items in Singapore.
Named the 30×30 Express grant, it has been put in place to meet 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs by the year 2030. Currently, more than 90 per cent of the food we consume is imported and less than 10 per cent of food is grown locally.
The open grant call, to be launched in the middle of this month, will call on local players producing the three food types to submit their proposals to grow more in the shortest time possible.
Successful applicants of the grant will be able to defray upfront costs to accelerate their farms’ expansion in production capacity within the next 6 to 24 months.
The grant will also provide co-funding of productivity-enhancing technology systems. This could potentially create more good jobs for Singaporeans in the agri-food industry and help SMEs.
This ties in with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s ministerial statement on the Resilience Budget where he spoke about the government’s efforts over the years to deal with immediate challenges by having a robust, multi-pronged strategy to ensure a stable supply of safe food and essential items.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also further emphasised the importance of developing local food production capabilities to help strengthen our food security and supply chain resilience.
Featured Image Credit: Singapore Food Agency