Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin has earned global recognition for technological advancements in the agri-food sector that have improved growing practices, increased distribution efficiency, and raised safety and nutritional standards.
Singapore is taking steps to bolster food security.
The island city-state imports about 90% of the food that its population consumes and uses less than 1% of its land for agriculture.
So, the government has announced its goal of “30 By 30”: to build its agri-food industry’s capability and capacity to produce 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030. To accomplish this, it will diversify its sources of imported foods, encourage companies to grow food overseas, and expand the local produce industry.
Singapore already has a thriving agri-food startup ecosystem, and it plans to develop innovative agri-tech and urban farming solutions such as rotating vertical fish farms, tiered indoor hydroponics farms, and rooftop vegetable gardens.
A $60 million Agri-food Cluster Transformation Fund has been established to provide financial support to farms to build and expand their production capabilities and capacities.
A high-tech agri-food zone will be established in the Lim Chu Kang area to increase food production in a sustainable and resource-efficient manner. The redeveloped cluster will be able to produce more than three times its current food production when completed, thanks to shared facilities such as waste treatment plants or packing facilities to achieve economies of scale.
Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing enterprise development, also has a large network of partners for agri-food research and development and market expansion, including a joint initiative to encourage food processing companies, startups, and university researchers to work together to create plant-based food.
Another initiative is FoodInnovate, a multi-agency project to equip Singapore-based companies with knowledge and resources to pursue food innovations. FoodInnovate develops food for the elderly and finds ways to convert food manufacturing byproducts into new, usable products.
Singapore also has contract manufacturing facilities for meat alternatives. One of the largest is SGProtein, which has announced plans to open Southeast Asia’s first large-scale contract manufacturing platform for plant-based meat alternatives in the city-state.
In addition, some foreign companies are setting up production facilities locally. California’s Eat Just, which makes meat and egg substitutes, announced plans in 2022 to build a 30,000-square-foot plant-protein factory in Singapore with the capacity to produce tens of thousands of pounds of meat from cells. It would house the largest bioreactor in the cultivated meat industry.
Other companies are partnering with local players to expand operations in Singapore. MeaTech 3D Ltd., an internationally renowned deep-tech cultured meat and food company, recently signed an agreement with Singapore-based cultured seafood company Umami Meats for the joint development of 3D-printed, cultured, structured seafood.
Wisconsin companies in the agri-food sector may be able to take advantage of opportunities to share their knowledge and market their products through Singapore’s “30 By 30” project.
