Feeding a Nation: Our Hunger for Food Security

We know the drill. The Prime Minister announces that he will be addressing the nation regarding Covid-19 developments – immediately people panic-buy¹ and shelves are wiped clean. Yet within hours, everything is restocked. How does this happen? 

Well, this is possible because Singapore has food stockpiles² in place in case of unforeseen disruptions. While we can rest assured that the pandemic doesn’t threaten our immediate food security, there are still other threats we should be concerned about.

The impact of climate change on our food

One such threat is climate change³. In just one of many examples, rice and other staples⁴ will experience a decrease in yield where they are traditionally grown, due to projected changes in mean temperatures and rainfall. 

Wheat production is expected to fall in the global north where it is traditionally eaten, while rice production is expected to fall in India and Indochina.  Although rice yield may increase in Europe, it is quite the distance from Asia where demand is the highest. This would affect people’s access to these staples, especially in affected countries which currently grow their own crops.

What exactly is food security? 

Broadly, it means that people have stable access to sufficient quantities of food⁵. While many of us are familiar with the Four National Taps⁶ for our water supply, our food security depends on what the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) calls our 3 Food Baskets⁷: Diversify Import Sources, Grow Local and Grow Overseas.

Diversify Import Sources

For a country that currently imports more than 90%⁸ of our food, we must ensure that food continues to reach our shores no matter what. Working with various stakeholders, SFA has diversified our food import sources to more than 170 different countries⁹. 

Even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore has taken steps to ensure food continues to reach our shores. Twelve countries including Singapore have signed the ‘Joint Ministerial Statement on Ensuring Supply Chain Connectivity’¹⁰, committing to keep the export of goods, including food unimpeded. This cushions the impact of disruptions from any single import source – which we can expect to see more¹¹ of due to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns as a result of climate change.

Grow Local

While we diversify our import sources, there are also plans to reduce our reliance on external sources of food. The Grow Local basket is best encapsulated by the ’30 by 30’¹² goal which was introduced in 2019 and aims to meet 30% of our nutritional needs by 2030 while keeping land used for agriculture at under 1%. 

While it may be surprising to some, Singapore actually has 220¹³ local farms, with around half being offshore fish farms. Today¹⁴, 25% of eggs, 10% of fish, and 14% of leafy vegetables consumed in Singapore are already grown locally. In fact, you probably already have eaten locally grown food – a whopping 70%¹⁵ of beansprouts consumed are grown in Singapore!

Furthermore, we have achieved self-sufficiency before. For 25 years after independence, we produced all¹⁶ of our own pork, poultry and eggs. This was a point of pride for our fledgling nation. Just a month after independence, the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew remarked¹⁷ that our agricultural success showed that “it is the quality, the mettle of a people which decides its future; not the size of the territory”.

However, 1984 marked a change¹⁸ in the government’s priorities. In line with the transition to a knowledge-based economy, Primary Production Department Director, Mr Goh Keng Swee, announced¹⁹ that Singapore no longer aimed to be self-sufficient for food. Instead, Singaporeans should specialise in areas higher up the value chain and rely on trade to meet other needs. While there were efforts to transition to agrotechnology farms, they were stymied²⁰ by the wave of mistrust towards genetically modified food, especially from the West.

So what changed since 1984 that once again raised the importance of food security?

In 2007, there was a global food crisis²¹. Due to drought and the shift to biofuel production, food prices rose dramatically, leading to panic buying. To allay public concern, the government highlighted that there was a national stockpile²² of rice – a move that had to be repeated²³ in 2020 due to Covid-related panic buying. These crises underscored the need for us to ensure that our food supply never runs dry.

The future of food?

Food production has changed radically in the past few years. There are already high-rise farms that fully maximise limited space. Local shrimp farm Universal Aquaculture²⁴ employs closed system vertical farming which reduces water consumption²⁵ and they plan to produce 400 tonnes of shrimp annually by 2022²⁶. 

We can also look forward to cultured meat or milk²⁷ grown from stem cells. Companies such as Shiok Meats²⁸ have produced edible lab-grown meat that is more environmentally sustainable²⁹. However, a key challenge remains in transforming it into a commercially viable product.

<insert video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltAwPu4iscg>

“Interview with Shiok Meats. (Source: CNA’s Youtube Channel)”

My final dabao*

*dabao means takeaway in mandarin

My biggest takeaway from the history of the food supply in Singapore is the importance of the government’s direction. 1984 showed that a decision to end self-sufficiency is a lot easier than trying to raise it. The government needs to be clear about what the goal is post-2030 – ambiguity will only result in farmers hesitating to seize opportunities due to fears of being left in the lurch, just as pig farmers were in the late 1980s.

Meanwhile, as consumers, we can play our part by showing support towards our local farms. Their products are readily available in supermarkets and are identifiable with the SG Fresh Produce logo (pictured above). Not only is it fresh, it may even be more affordable³⁰!

Regardless of where you get your food from, I hope this brief history of our country’s food security has given you some food for thought. Our food security cannot be taken for granted – our survival depends on it. The next time you buy a plate of food, or make a trip to the supermarket, try pausing to think: Where does it come from? Who grew this? How sustainable is it?

——-

See Toh Ee Kin

Bachelor of Environmental Studies Undergraduate, National University of Singapore

It all started with growing taugeh in primary school

 References:

1. Today NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong urge customers not to panic buy in wake of enhanced Covid-19 restrictions (https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/ntuc-fairprice-and-sheng-siong-urge-customers-not-panic-buy-wake-enhanced-covid-19)
2. CNA Singapore has months’ worth of stockpiles, planned for disruption of supplies from Malaysia for years: Chan Chun Sing (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/coronavirus-covid-19-chan-chun-sing-food-supply-12545326)
3. The Straits Times The twin threats to food security: Pandemics and climate disruptions (https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-twin-threats-to-food-security-pandemics-and-climate-disruptions)
4. Sensitivity of global major crop yields to climate variables: A non-parametric elasticity analysis (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720349603)
5. FAO Food Security Policy Brief (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/faoitaly/documents/pdf/pdf_Food_Security_Cocept_Note.pdf)
6. PUB Four National Taps (https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/fournationaltaps)
7. SFA Our Singapore Food Storu (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/sgfoodstory/our-singapore-food-story-the-3-food-baskets)
8. SFA The Food We Eat (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/singapore-food-supply/the-food-we-eat)
9. SFA Diversify Import Sources (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/sgfoodstory/diversification-of-import-sources)
10. MTI Press Release – Singapore Welcomes New Members To Joint Ministerial Statement On Ensuring Supply Chain Connectivity Amidst The Covid-19 Situation (https://www.mti.gov.sg/-/media/MTI/Newsroom/Press-Releases/2020/07/2-Jul—Singapore-Welcomes-New-Members-to-Joint-Ministerial–Statement-on-Supply-Chain-Connect.pdf)
11. UN The World’s Food Supply is Made Insecure by Climate Change (https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/worlds-food-supply-made-insecure-climate-change)
12.  SFA Grow Local (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/sgfoodstory/grow-local)
13. SFA Food Farms in Singapore (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/sgfoodstory/grow-local)
14. SFA Grow Local (https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/sgfoodstory/grow-local)
15. CNA As beansprout prices shoot up in Singapore, will they go missing from our favourite dishes? (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/as-beansprout-prices-shoot-up-in-singapore-will-they-go-missing-11926416)
16.  Chapter 7: Agriculture and the End of Farming in Singapore in Nature Contained: Environmental Histories of Singapore (https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1096622)
17. Transcript of a Speech made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Opening the Agricultural Show at the Kallang Park in the Evening on 19th September 1965. (https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/lky19650919.pdf)
18. Food Policy in Singapore (https://thirdworldcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RPP-Mar-28-17-Food-Policy-in-Singapore.pdf)
19. Singapore Parliament Oral Answers to Questions Primary Production (Government Policy) (https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic?reportid=003_19840316_S0003_T0014)
20. Chapter 7: Agriculture and the End of Farming in Singapore in Nature Contained: Environmental Histories of Singapore (https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1096622)
21. CNA The Big Read: Singapore has been buttressing its food security for decades. Now, people realise why (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid19-coronavirus-singapore-food-security-stockpile-national-12563280)
22. Today The Big Read: Far from people’s minds, but food security a looming issue (https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/big-read-far-peoples-minds-food-security-looming-issue)
23. CNA COVID-19 panic buying has not put a dent in Singapore’s national stockpile: Chan Chun Sing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqYr-TqNo7Y)
24. The Straits Times High-tech Tuas farm aims to satisfy local appetite for prawns (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/high-tech-tuas-farm-aims-to-satisfy-local-appetite-for-prawns)
25. Closed Aquaculture System: Zero Water Discharge for Shrimp and Prawn Farming in Indonesia (https://www.intechopen.com/books/biological-resources-of-water/closed-aquaculture-system-zero-water-discharge-for-shrimp-and-prawn-farming-in-indonesia)
26. The Straits Times High-tech Tuas farm aims to satisfy local appetite for prawns (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/high-tech-tuas-farm-aims-to-satisfy-local-appetite-for-prawns)
27. The Straits Times No cows, got milk: Singapore firm wins global contest with lab-made version (https://www.straitstimes.com/business/no-cows-got-milk-spore-firm-wins-global-contest-with-lab-made-version)
28. Shiok Meats (https://shiokmeats.com/)
29. Shiok Meats Announces $12.6M Series A Funding Round to Produce Clean, Sustainable, Cruelty-Free Shrimp and Crustaceans (https://shiokmeats.com/shiok-meats-announces-12-6m-series-a-funding-round-to-produce-clean-sustainable-cruelty-free-shrimp-and-crustaceans/)
30. 30X30: Our Hunger for Food Security SG Fresh Produce II : Eye on the Price (https://blog.nus.edu.sg/30x30ourhungerforfoodsecurity/2020/10/09/sg-fresh-produce-ii-eye-on-the-price/)