Straits Times 30 Jan 18;
Mr Chan Tzeh Wey highlighted that the recent Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) tender exercise for three land parcels for fish farming received lukewarm response, and suggested the AVA revise its scheme to encourage genuine farmers to participate in the tender (Encourage firms with farming experience to bid for tenders; Jan 25).
We, Opal Resources, were one of the bidders and would like to share our view as a fish-farming practitioner in Singapore.
We first thank the AVA for the new fixed-price scheme, instead of going by the highest-bidder model.
This helps keep land cost low and allows farmers a better chance to compete with imported farm produce.
The tender term of 20 years is also fair, as farmers need time to recoup the heavy capital investment.
In fact, we were hoping for an even longer term.
As for the lukewarm response, this could be because there are more marine-based fish farms in Singapore than land-based ones. Hence, naturally, the tender of land for land-based fish farms would attract less interest.
Another reason could also be the difficult conditions for fish farming in Singapore.
Farmers are often on their own due to the lack of strong aquaculture communities and supply chains like that in Thailand or Vietnam.
Important issues, such as the availability of quality fish fry, have plagued fish farmers here for years.
In our case, we saw this bottleneck early and have invested considerably to start our in-house hatchery, since without fish fry, there is no fish farming.
Mr Chan had also suggested extending the tender deadline.
However, this might not improve participation rate, as the AVA made the announcement of the tender back in May last year.
Eight months is a reasonable preparation time, even for new players.
Alex Siow Ching Hai
Managing Director
Opal Resources
Encourage firms with farming experience to bid for tenders
Straits Times 25 Jan 18;
In May last year, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) announced that 36 plots of land for food farming on 20-year leases were up for tender, under the new fixed scheme to allow farmers to embrace technology with productivity (Land to be released for new farms to raise food supply; May 12, 2017).
That was a pleasant piece of news for Singaporeans and entrepreneurs alike, and showed the AVA's support towards the industry and building the country's food resilience capability.
However, it came as a surprise to me that it garnered a lukewarm response - only five proposals were received for the three land parcels at Neo Tiew Crescent for fish farming.
My cursory check on those who were successful in their bids showed that only one of the companies may have experience in fish farming.
The AVA should revise its scheme further so that it can encourage genuine farmers to participate in the tender, as 20 years is a very long time to see the results of improved food farming.
At a time when food security is important to Singapore, the way the tenders for these plots of land are awarded is worrisome.
Maybe a further extension of the tender deadline would encourage more companies to participate as well.
Chan Tzeh Wey
Farmland tender methods encourage innovation, technology
Straits Times 5 Feb 18;
We thank Mr Chan Tzeh Wey (Encourage firms with farming experience to bid for tenders; Jan 25), and Mr Alex Siow Ching Hai (AVA's tender exercise for fish-farming land was fair; Jan 30) for their views on the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) farmland tender launched in October last year.
Local production is important for Singapore's food security. Given our land constraints, we must maximise land usage to boost local supply. This is why the AVA adopted a new approach to the farmland tenders.
Instead of the conventional price method, a fixed-price method was adopted for most of the tenders. Tenderers compete based on the quality of concepts proposed, with a focus on productivity.
The AVA also ensured that the tender period was sufficient for those who were interested to participate in the tender exercise. The tender period of 10 weeks was longer than the six-to eight-week period usually given for land tender exercises.
To help farmers prepare for the tender, we briefed them in May last year, and our farm account managers actively followed up to engage the farmers and provide further support. The AVA also conducted advisory sessions on the drafting of tender proposals.
The AVA would like to clarify that the tender proposals received are currently being evaluated and the tender has not been awarded.
The proposals will be evaluated based on production capability, production track record, relevant experience and qualification, and innovation and sustainability.
Local production is important for Singapore's food security. Given our land constraints, we must maximise land usage to boost local supply. This is why the AVA adopted a new approach to the farmland tenders.
While the AVA continues to work closely with farmers and support their efforts in transforming our agriculture sector to bolster food security, we urge members of the public to play a part by choosing local produce.
This will help to support the business of our local farmers and spur our farms to raise their production levels to meet the increased demand.
Melvin Chow
Group Director, Food Supply Resilience Group
Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority
