LAUREN ONG Today Online 11 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE — Singaporeans are set to see more locally grown organic products in their supermarkets after a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang took a vital step towards meeting fast-growing demand here for clean, green food.
The farm, operated by Sky Greens, is Singapore’s first farm to secure a new national standard for organic primary produce grown in or near an urban area. The farm received the SS 632 Certification on Tuesday (June 11) at a ceremony attended by Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli.
NTUC Fairprice director of food quality and safety, Ms Chong Nyet Chin, said Singaporeans’ expanding disposable income, increasing health concerns and consumer awareness are some of the drivers behind the proliferation of the local organic market.
She said consumers here increasingly want to “go for green, go for local and go for niche”.
“Healthy living and ageing is a top priority in Singapore. So fresh and organic products will be the push for the consumers to aspire to better health and living, which will be the continued driving force that pushes Singapore’s organic trend.” Ms Chong said at the certification event.
The development of the national standard for green and sustainable farming practices is a step closer to Singapore’s “30 by 30” vision of producing 30 per cent of the nation’s nutritional needs locally by 2030, unveiled by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources in March.
The SS 632 is said to be the world’s first national standard for organic primary produce grown in urban — or near urban — environments, tailored to Singapore’s farm settings. It was supported by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation — Standards Development Organisation.
Mr Masagos said the certification on Tuesday “will be followed by many, many more, as our farms continue to transform themselves to tap the latest market opportunities”.
Firms such as Japan’s Panasonic, which operates an indoor farm at its premises in Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, are also said to be interested in attaining the SS 632 certification.
The chairman of Sky Greens, Dr Ngiam Tong Tau told TODAY that the strive towards satisfying the SS 632 certification requirements had helped the farm to focus on areas where they can implement more sustainable methods.
“When we set up our farm, our intention was to practise organic farming, but because of our environment, it was difficult for us and the Singapore Standards Council helped us as they not only cater to traditional farms but also cater for ethical farms.”
The farm grows a range of green vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, spinach, kai lan and kang kong.
The certification is administered by Enterprise Singapore and was overseen by the Singapore Standards Council’s (SSC’s) Food Standards Committee. It was developed after local farms worked to address challenges in farming here such as limited space for agriculture, a lack of natural resources, higher operating costs due to energy consumption and manpower constraints.
To achieve the certification, farms must meet the requirements for sustainable farming practices, including the use of rainwater, use of living substrate or growing media, and having an enclosed area for farming that limits potential contamination and pollution from the environment.
These standards apply for agricultural products such as grains, mushrooms, fresh vegetables, fresh herbs and fresh fruits, covering processes such as production, post-harvest practices, import, packing and repacking, storage, transport and labelling of organic produce.
The chairman of the SSC’s Food Standards Committee, Mr Allan Lim, told TODAY that Singapore has a unique farming infrastructure and capacity, especially with the nation’s “expiration date for us to be self-sufficient” and “to be competitive with our neighbouring countries”.
With the lack of land space and consequently less competitive prices in Singapore, Mr Lim said that the certification allows farms to be “more competitive”, making them appeal to a niche market which consumers are increasingly opting for.
Mr Masagos said consumers “play an important role in helping our local agri-food industry to grow”.
“When we buy more local produce, the demand enhances the commercial viability of our local farms, and leads to economies of scale. This allows local farms to invest more in technology and develop further,” he said.
Vertical farm receives the world's first urban farm certification for organic vegetables
Shabana Begum Straits Times 11 Jun 19;
SINGAPORE - Buyers of mini-vegetables from the first vertical farm here can now be assured they were grown without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides.
Sky Greens, an urban farm in Lim Chu Kang, has been awarded the world's first national standard for organic vegetables grown in urban environments, developed in Singapore to address key challenges such as limited land, lack of soil and water and higher operating costs from energy consumption and manpower constraints.
Sky Greens received the Singapore Standard 632 (SS 632) for organic primary produce certification from certification body Control Union Certifications on Tuesday (June 11).
The certification was developed by the Singapore Standards Council's Food Standards Committee with the support of Singapore Manufacturing Federation-Standards Development Organisation and Enterprise Singapore.
Urban farms worldwide, including importers, exporters and retailers can apply for the SS 632 certification.
Dr Allan Lim, chairman of the Food Standards Committee, said while the certification would increase consumers' confidence in local produce, it would also give Singapore's agri-food industry a certain level of recognition.
"We aspire to be a leader in the agri-food sector, and we also want to achieve a certain level of self-sustainability. In order to achieve that and for farmers to be competitive, we need standards like this to elevate their image and also make them more competitive internationally.
"The certification may allow local urban farms to expand into markets outside of Singapore. Having a national organic certification will help local urban farms to be on equal footing with the US for instance," said Dr Lim.
Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli, who witnessed the presentation of the certification, noted that the increasing demand for organic food has growth potential for local farms.
"The global organic food and beverage market is expected to grow to US$320 billion by 2025, with the fastest growth anticipated in the Asia Pacific.
"In Singapore growing consumer awareness and the wider availability of organic products have contributed to the increasing demand for organic food," he said.
Mr Masagos also announced that the Singapore Food Agency will be developing "Clean-Green Standards" for urban vegetable farms that adhere to high standards, but are not strictly organic.
"This will recognise farms that produce safe, good quality and nutritious vegetables in a clean, resource-efficient environment with no pesticide use. The standards will be developed with the industry, academics and consumers."
Sky Greens harvests 500 kg of produce such as mini cai xin, jie lan and Chinese cabbage every day that are sold at FairPrice Finest stores.
The farm grows 10 times as many vegetables as traditional farming, using up to 9m-tall tiered towers holding rows of Asian vegetables.
The rotating metal towers housed in glass buildings allow all plants to get a uniform amount of sunlight, so there is no need to use LED lights, as many urban farms do. They are rotated by a water-pulley system, using gravity from collected rainwater, and the same rainwater is used for growing the crops.
The newly certified mini-vegetables that will reach FairPrice Finest shelves from Wednesday (June 12) onwards will cost 50 to 60 per cent more. Currently, 150g of vegetables cost $2.75.
To avoid pesticides, Sky Greens started to produce mini-vegetables in 2017. Normal-sized vegetables take 40 days to mature, but the vegetables at the farm are harvested when they are smaller, at between day 21 and 24, before insects appear.
Sky Greens now grows only mini plants, which pack more nutrients than mature plants.
The crops are grown in organic compost made up of Nespresso recycled coffee grounds, chicken manure pellets from local farms and vegetable waste from Sky Greens.
Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, who headed the Organic Primary Produce Working Group, which crafted the SS 632, said it plugged a gap in organic certification for urban farms.
"Organic farming practices have increasingly been adopted worldwide in open field soil-based farms. However, there is now a rapid decline in arable farmland and more farms are being developed in urban areas," said Dr Ngiam, who is also the chairman of Sky Urban Solutions Holding, which owns Sky Greens.
A few urban farms including Panasonic's indoor vegetable farm have expressed interest in the SS 632 certification.
