Wanted: Singapore 'farmers' overseas

Outgoing AVA chief wants local investors to venture into food farms beyond Singapore's boundaries
Chen Huifen, Business Times 18 May 09;

OUTGOING Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) chief executive Chua Sin Bin will serve his last day at the agency next week, but he won't be going on a world tour anytime soon.

Instead, he wants to encourage Singapore investors to go overseas to set up food farms abroad in his new role as consultant to AVA, where he has worked for 38 years.

'It is my life,' says the man who started out as a veterinary officer with the Primary Production Department, AVA's predecessor. 'Even after I retire, I will still help AVA in my capacity as a consultant. And, of course, my aim is to help not just AVA; I would like to also help the Singapore food industry and our agro-businesses to go overseas, to extend their reach into the international arena.

'Of course, this will certainly help Singapore. If our food industry can grow and export competitively, it is good for Singapore.'

Relative to the investments Singapore has made over the years in IT, engineering and other industrial fields, the agriculture sector is 'quite badly underfunded', Dr Chua says. He hopes to turn that around by encouraging Singapore investors to go abroad to set up food farms that can export surplus produce to Singapore. This will add a new dimension to Singapore's food supply diversification strategy.

The concept sounds simple: identify food zones overseas that have the potential to scale up commercially, invest in them, and help transfer know-how on food safety and management to the farmers. In turn, investors in Singapore can obtain food from such sources not only in good times, but also in difficult times.

Some possible sites include locations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Indochina region. 'We need major investors, investments and we need big companies - they can be food companies,' says Dr Chua. 'Some of them may find it logical for them to go upstream and, even in terms of technology and expertise, we can build up and buy.'

But for the concept to work, it will need the buy-in from many stakeholders - from the native farmers and local governments, to entrepreneurs here. It will require a long-term wait for return on investment, which may not be the appetite of all enterprises.

'We have to be very sensitive as well,' adds Dr Chua. 'It has to be something that's beneficial, not only to Singapore as an investor, but to the country we are investing in. It must be a win-win situation, where we can uplift the standard of living, improve the social status of the community.'

The model should be balanced with an increase in local production. Land available for agriculture may be limited, but R&D can help find ways to shorten reproduction cycles, or cut the feed-to-meat conversion ratio.

For Singapore, achieving 20-40 per cent self-sufficiency in food supply through a combination of the above two initiatives is not an impossible goal in the long term, says Dr Chua.

Although many local manufacturers in the food industry have a global reach, they are still SMEs by international standards. Dr Chua sees plenty of scope to grow them into even bigger enterprises, along the likes of Fraser & Neave, by tapping into technology.

'Technology in improving the quality of product, in improving processes so that they can produce faster, with lower cost, produce it safer, with less manpower - that will cut down the cost,' he adds.

Dr Chua will retire from AVA next Wednesday, after nearly four years as its CEO. He will be succeeded by Tan Poh Hong, deputy chief executive (estates and corporate) of the Housing and Development Board.

AVA's key challenge: Managing Singapore's cost, supply of food
Plan is to get Singapore investors to set up farms abroad, says outgoing CEO
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 18 May 09

AMID food scares and escalating food prices in the world today, Singapore needs to be proactive in seeking out opportunities to keep food prices affordable and ensure a constant source of supply.

Asserting this as a key challenge for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) was outgoing chief executive, Dr Chua Sin Bin, 61, who steps down on Wednesday after four years at the helm.

He said a key strategy of AVA is to encourage Singapore investors to go overseas to set up food farms abroad.

Developing food zones in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Indochina will ensure that Singapore can continue to obtain food supplies at 'competitive prices' and have 'alternative sources to turn to should the need arise', Dr Chua said.

But the Colombo Plan scholar, who studied veterinary science at the University of Queensland in Australia before joining the Primary Production Department, AVA's predecessor, as a veterinary officer in 1971, expects challenges ahead. This is owing primarily to a lack of investment in agriculture worldwide.

'Following decades of promoting an open-door policy towards trade, countries around the world are now prepared to suspend or even ban exports altogether,' he said. 'Suddenly, the whole dimension has changed.'

He said the agency's key response to managing the costs of food has been to diversify its sources.

'We have actively promoted the global search for sources that can provide a safe and competitively priced food supply for Singaporeans,' Dr Chua said.

With the exception of eggs, key food items in Singapore have less than 50 per cent of their supply source from a single country. Staples such as poultry, vegetables and seafood are sourced from as far and wide as Brazil, Vietnam and Namibia.

'This has worked very well. Today, we have more sources of food supply than we would ever need.'

Dr Chua has also been a key architect in the development of Singapore's robust food safety programme. He was part of the pioneering batch of six that established a meat technology laboratory in 1971.

Today, this has morphed into two state-of-the-art laboratories - the Veterinary Public Health Centre and the Animal and Plant Health Centre - housing almost 140 trained staff who include experts such as pathologists, chemists and toxicologists.

It is an achievement Dr Chua takes great satisfaction in.

'We have built ourselves up from Third World to First World standard. Today, Singapore is probably the safest place that you can find in terms of our food safety facility standards,' he added.

When the melamine-tainted milk scandal ignited last September, Dr Chua made the decision to order a total recall and suspension of imports of all milk products from China. Singapore was the first country to do so.

'When it started, we knew it could potentially be a very big crisis,' he said.

The agency's rapid response saw almost 10,000 rigorous tests being conducted on 3,853 products, leading to the destruction of 39 contaminated products that could have ended up on shelves here.

'We have come a long way to be where we are today...The rest of the world knows that if rubbish is dumped on our shores, we will pick it up,' Dr Chua said.

He will be succeeded by Ms Tan Poh Hong, who leaves her position as HDB's deputy chief executive (estates and corporate).