Nine urban farms have been offered a total of $39.4 million by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) as part of efforts to support the growth of local agri-food enterprises and ramp up local food production over the next six to 24 months.
The amount was made available through the “30×30 Express” grant launched by SFA on 17 April. The aim of the grant is to meet 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs with food produced locally by 2030.
SFA said the nine farms used highly productive farming systems that could be constructed and implemented quickly to achieve high production levels.
The proposals were assessed on benchmarks such as productivity, project feasibility, economic viability and the farms’ capabilities.
SFA said it had to increase the original $30 million budget for the grant to almost $40 million to support the nine companies’ proposals.
Seven farms have accepted the SFA offer – vegetable farms ComCrop, Green Harvest, I.F.F.I, LivFresh, Genesis One Tech Farm and VertiVegies, and egg farm Chew’s Agriculture.
The funds will go towards projects such as building more greenhouses and bringing artificial intelligence (AI) to high-tech farms.
For instance, I.F.F.I will set up a mega high-tech indoor vegetable farm that depends on AI to monitor the growth of its leafy greens, along with an environmental control system to ensure optimum yield year round. The farm will also use an innovative water treatment system that reduces the amount of bacteria in crops and extends the shelf life of its produce.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 10 September 2020