Esther Ng Today Online 12 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE - The future of food resilience in Singapore is being increasingly underpinned by the advances made in fish culture.
Four out of 11 projects approved by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) went to commercial fish farm Barramundi Asia, which currently operates aquaculture sites off Pulau Semakau and, in future, off Pulau Senang.
Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that targets for fish supply look promising. Singapore, he said, has a good aquaculture industry, good base stock for fish farms and clean waters.
Barramundi Asia is one of the 11 successful applicants that accepted AVA's Food Fund, a $5 million initiative launched in December last year to provide funding for projects with potential to contribute to Singapore's food supply and to support efforts to secure food from different sources.
Most of the projects involve upgrading the capabilities of local farms.
Barramundi's first project under the funding, which begins this month, will place large round cages in open waters off Pulau Semakau and have the space to produce 200 metric tonnes of fish compared with the 80 metric tonnes from its current square cages, its spokesperson told MediaCorp.
Its other projects include a site evaluation for deep water fish farming in high currents off Pulau Senang, an automatic feeding system at its open water fish farm off Pulau Semakau and an automating fish sorting, grading and vaccination process. The latter will reduce the use of unskilled labour and improve productivity.
With the funding, Barramundi hopes to produce 3,000 metric tonnes of fish each year by 2012 - up from 500 metric tonnes currently.
The Inter-Agency Committee on Food Supply Resilience had recommended that Singapore strengthen its resilience in six key food items: Rice, chicken, pork, fish, eggs and leafy vegetables.
In the next five to seven years, Singapore aims to increase egg production to meet 30 per cent of local consumption, up from the current 23 per cent, fish to meet 15 per cent of local demand, up from 4 per cent, and leafy vegetables to meet 15 per cent of local demand, up from 7 per cent.
Other successful Food Fund projects include Seng Choon Farm and United Engineers' initiative to reduce odorous air emissions from its poultry farm and Aquaproduce's feasibility study into finding a seafood source in Vietnam through long-term procurement contracts.
Mr Mah, who toured Seng Choon's new premises in Lim Chu Kang yesterday, told reporters that egg producers were on track to meet the national target.
The AVA received 48 applications by the closing date in March, of which 24 were successful but two applicants turned down its offer of funding.
Eleven applicants have yet to accept the offer.
Farmers get money to hatch growth plans
11 farms tap Food Fund for their projects; AVA doubles funding to $10m
Jessica Lim Straits Times 12 Oct 10;
VEGETABLE farm Koh Fah Technology Farm in Sungei Tengah hires 25 workers to pack vegetables by hand into bags. Next month, a new automated system will free many of them to work in the fields.
The machine, costing a six-figure sum, is expected to increase productivity by 16 per cent from the current 115 tonnes of vegetables each month, said Mr Dave Huang, who manages the family-owned business.
This and 10 other projects from local farms are some productivity-boosting ideas that are getting funding from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Fund.
The fund, which the AVA doubled to $10 million yesterday, is used to support farmers and companies here, particularly those that produce essential food items such as fish, eggs and leafy vegetables.
The idea is to either encourage them to develop their capabilities to increase production here or help them import more from other countries.
Farms and firms can also use the money to pay for studies to see if they should invest in overseas food zones and contract farming, or source food from places that are not major exporters to Singapore.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who visited egg producer Seng Choon Farm in Lim Chu Kang yesterday, said the fund was set up in anticipation of 'volatility in the food supply situation'. The amount in the fund was doubled, he said, due to good response.
'Hopefully we can encourage more local investors and farmers to come in and help us diversify (our food sources),' he said, adding that he hoped to see more fish farmers apply. 'If they are successful and need more money, I think we can try to provide that as well.'
AVA's chief executive officer Tan Poh Hong said the fund is likely to be topped up in the coming years. She also said the authority expects to make another call for applicants next year. The fund was launched last December and attracted 48 applicants: 11 accepted funding amounting to about $5 million. Another 11 are pending acceptance by the firms. Twenty-one were rejected, two declined funding and three withdrew their applications.
Ms Tan said applications were rejected because the firms did not meet financial guidelines or did not target the increased production of essential food items.
Those which declined found that funding arrangements did not suit them.
The Food Fund is part of a larger push to ensure that Singapore's food supply remains stable. In 2008, a committee was formed to study trends in global food supply and devise long-term strategies to keep food flowing in. The inter-agency committee - comprising members from the National Development, and Trade and Industry ministries - recommended the establishment of the fund.
Eventually, Singapore hopes to meet its goal of raising local production of fish from 4 per cent of domestic demand to 15 per cent; eggs from 23 per cent to 30 per cent; and leafy vegetables from 7 per cent to 10 per cent. The Republic imports 90 per cent of the food consumed here.
Mr Malcolm Ong, 46, the owner of Metropolitan Fishery Group off Lim Chu Kang, will be using money from the fund to install oxygen pumps and a monitoring system for oxygen levels.
The owner of the 2ha farm currently employs farm-hands, who ensure oxygen-rich water by churning up water in his farm with his speedboat's propeller.
'We cannot use such simple methods if we want to expand,' he said, adding that output can now be increased from 350 to 1,000 tonnes over the next two years. 'Without the fund, we risk losing millions if something goes wrong, and first we'll have to raise enough money.'
Such oxygen systems, he said, cost a few hundred thousand dollars. He declined to say how much he received, as he had signed a confidentiality agreement.
At egg farm Chew's Agriculture, an automated feeding system and feed-mixing system will help to raise daily production from 250,000 eggs to 400,000 eggs over the next two years. At Seng Choon Farm, suction devices to reduce odour will be installed on the farms.
Up to 70 per cent of each project is funded and the amount awarded depends on factors such as the firm's financial position, its proposal and track record.
The AVA is also working with the Jilin City municipal government on a $32 million deal to establish and maintain a disease-free zone - crucial for agricultural production and food processing - in the Jilin Food Zone in China. The plan is for pigs to be bred and farmed there, with the pork processed and then exported to Singapore.
AVA doubles funding support to farms to S$10m
Hoe Yeen Nie Channel NewsAsia 11 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE: The government has doubled its support for farms to S$10 million, under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Fund.
The aim is to ensure import-dependent Singapore doesn't lose out when global markets turn volatile.
Singapore currently imports about 90 percent of its food.
So far, 11 projects have received funding.
Egg production has gone high-tech at Seng Choon Farm - from the mixing and distribution of chicken feed to the collection and packing of eggs.
Farming is a labour-intensive venture, and in Singapore, that means it's expensive too.
Automation lowers costs, while at the same time, ensures that the product remains free from human contamination.
Soon, the farm will install a system to treat its waste and turn it into high-grade fertiliser for export.
"It will help us to bring in additional revenue. This revenue will help us lower our overall production costs, and improve on our sustainable farming practices," said Koh Yeow Koon, MD of Seng Choon Farm.
The project is one of 11 that have received funding from AVA. Another 11 are pending acceptance.
Two other projects, to do with vertical vegetable farming, were approved by AVA but the applicants declined to take up funding.
In total, 48 applications were submitted before the closing date in March this year.
It said due to strong response, total funding has been doubled from the initial S$5 million.
The Food Fund is part of Singapore's effort to reduce reliance on imports.
"If we can get prepared and it will take us some time to ramp up, but I think it will put us in a stronger position to secure safe supply of food in the future," said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
About 23 per cent of eggs consumed in Singapore are produced locally, and the AVA's aim is to increase that to 30 per cent.
But eggs aside, the broader aim is also to increase local production of fish to 15 per cent of consumption, and for leafy vegetables to 10 per cent of local consumption.
Fish farms will also get funding to automate the feeding process, and to monitor the water quality.
Applicants may receive up to 70 per cent of funding.
Application for the fund has now closed, and AVA has not indicated when it will open a new round of applications.
A technical working group has been formed to review progress made, and AVA said it expects regular audit reports from the farms.
There are 72 land-based food farms in Singapore, which produce anything from bean sprouts to dairy cattle.
Besides this, there are 109 sea-based farms where food-fish, molluscs and other seafood are reared.
Aside from the Food Fund, the government has also been working on diversifying its food sources.
Recent efforts include developing a food zone in China's Jilin province, and increasing the number of contract farms in Indonesia.
AVA said its priority is to ensure a steady and safe supply in six key items that feature strongly in the average Singaporean's diet. They are eggs, chicken, pork, rice, fish and leafy vegetables. - CNA/wk/ls
