Does it really matter where our food is grown?
A stable supply through trade is the key to food security in land-scarce Singapore, though local farming has a role to play.
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Singapore must be realistic in view of the trade-offs with more critical and competing uses of land resources.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Lawrence Loh and Florence Leong
When Malaysia halted chicken exports, supermarket shelves in Singapore emptied almost overnight. Many Singaporeans rushed to stock up, unsure when supplies would return. That moment revealed how exposed a small, import-reliant nation can feel when key supply lines are disrupted.
But it also showed something else that is important: Our food security does not depend on growing everything ourselves. Instead, it depends on whether our supply pipelines stay open, diverse and reliable.

