30 by 30 no more: What is S’pore’s plan for local food production?

As local farms keep closing, will stockpiling, import diversification and global partnerships be enough to safeguard Singapore’s food security?

Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

The past few years have not been fertile ground for the growth of Singapore’s local farms. Many agri-food businesses have closed or scaled down their operations amid a high operating cost environment. Last November, the Singapore Food Agency finally announced that it will be dropping its original “30 by 30” target, under which Singapore aimed to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030.

There are other efforts in place to safeguard the food import-dependent country’s food security, such as import diversification, stockpiling and global partnerships. But with climate change wrecking havoc on crop yields and recent geopolitical events disrupting long-standing bilateral relationships, can Singapore afford not to have a strategic plan for local production? Green Pulse hosts Audrey Tan and David Fogarty discuss the challenges in this episode.

Have a listen and let us know what you think!

Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):

3:38 Why do farms in Singapore keep closing?

10:49 What are the four pillars in Singapore’s approach to safeguarding food security?

12:48 With climate change affecting crop yields, how effective will import diversification and intergovernmental pacts be in ensuring food security?

16:05 Other than securing supplies of food, what are other areas to look at to boost food security?

Read more on The Straits Times: https://str.sg/sLPM

Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/848W

Read her articles: https://str.sg/JLM2

Follow David Fogarty on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/jcvy

Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu

Hosts: Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg) & David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg)