The Evolving Singapore Agrifood Ecosystem

Abstract

The Singapore agri-food ecosystem is fast changing from one focused primarily on food security to one which also addresses a new economic sub-sector for export of processed food and “disruptive technologies”. Recently there has been a marked convergence of various technologies including FoodTech, AgTech, FinTech and MedTech. In 2019, exciting initiatives were announced which included the development of a new 18 ha Agri-food Innovation Park (AFIP), a new food security strategy of 30% food self-sufficiency by 2030, the launch of the Enterprise Singapore backed Seeds Capital investment for several new AgriFoodTech Accelerators and the launch of the new Singapore Food Agency (SFA) under the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). All these have come at a time when there is an increasing number of new startups and commercial enterprises engaged in farming and food processing, including indoor plant factories growing a range of fruit and vegetables and land-based fish farms. How do all these developments compare with similar ecosystems in successful agri-food countries like the Netherlands? Building on a previous NTS INSIGHT on developing a successful urban food cluster, this INSIGHT will explore ways to successfully integrate the key elements such as research and development; retail and consumers; human resources and education; financing; and policy. It concludes with some foresighted insights on the future direction of the ecosystem.