SINGAPORE - A series of agri-food standards which were officially launched on Friday will provide farmers with green guidelines on their processes and offer better assurance to Singaporeans looking to buy locally grown produce, seafood and eggs.

The three standards that were launched are: Singapore Standards (SS) 675: 2021 Specification for Good Agriculture Practice, to SS 670: 2021 Specification for Good Aquaculture Practice and SS 676:2021 Specification for good animal husbandry practice for layer farms. These were developed by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and the Standards Development Organisation.

These new standards are used for the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) Singapore Good Agricultural Practices (SG GAP) certification. 

Under the newly launched SS 675 Specification for Good Agriculture Practice, the areas of agriculture farm production that will be covered are food safety, crop protection and produce quality, environmental management, and the health, safety and welfare of farm workers.

SS 670 Specification for Good Aquaculture Practice will apply to open-cage farming, pond farming, closed containment farming systems for fish, crustaceans and shellfish and covers the following areas of aquaculture farm production: Food safety and quality, animal health and welfare, environmental integrity the socio-economic aspects.

For chicken and quail layer farms which produce eggs, the SS 676:2021 Specification for good animal husbandry practice for layer farms will cover all aspects of farm operations which include the egg collection process as well as offering guidelines to minimise the environment impact and maintaining animal welfare.

The scope of the SS 676:2021 will cover food safety and quality, animal health and welfare, environmental management and workers’ health and safety.

Chairman of the Food Standards Committee Dr Allan Lim, who spoke during the launch which took place at the Agri-Food Tech Expo 2022 held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, said that the standards were aimed at guiding local farms in the areas of food safety and quality, environmental management, and the health and safety of farm workers.

Dr Lim said: “Through the adoption of best farming practices recommended by local industry experts and the alignment with international standards, these Singapore Standards will allow local farms to access wider markets and enhance consumer confidence in their products and produce.”

Ms Khoo Gek Hoon, director of SFA’s Industry Development and Community Partnership Division, said that the standards would help contribute to Singapore’s 30 by 30 plan. Under the plan, Singapore aims to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030.

Ms Khoo, who helped develop the new standards, said: “The standards were developed to align Singapore with regional and international standards to help farms adopt best practices for quality assurance in agriculture, aquaculture and egg production while protecting the farm environment.

“Customers want a product that is reliable and traceable so we need to put in a place a system that takes the first steps to do this.”

While 30 per cent of eggs consumed in Singapore are sourced domestically, just four per cent of vegetables, and eight per cent of seafood was grown locally, according to Dr Lim.

To date, eight farms out of a total of 260 have received the SG GAP certification, which SFA encourages farms to do so on a voluntary basis.

One such farm is Chew’s Agriculture which produces around 800,000 eggs daily, according to the farm’s Quality Assurance Lead Yeap Soon Ming.

He said that his farm has thus far seen the benefits of following the standards and being awarded the certification.

He said: “We now have consistent procedures and certification in place, so that has improved our productivity and also built customer trust in our products.”

Pointing out that the new standards put an added emphasis on the welfare of animals, workers and the environment, Mr Yeap added: “Today, customers are becoming more sophisticated…they are interested if we are following the proper farming practices and how we ensure that animal welfare is not compromised during the farming operations.”

Mr Allan Lim, chief executive of rooftop vegetable farm Comcrop, said that he appreciated how the new standards would also offer guidelines so that farms like his would not waste resources.

“(Singapore) is very unique in that we are resource constrained, land constrained and manpower constrained.

“Consumers will be a lot more assured that the farmers have done what is best to protect the crop from pests and this can keep the costs of vegetables, like the cai xin that we grow using hydroponics, low.”

Mr Malcolm Ong, chief executive of fish farm The Fish Farmer, said that it was important for farms like his to practise responsible aquaculture.

“We have to be responsible for animal health, food safety and traceability, environmental preservation and worker welfare. We are not here just to earn money but also to be responsible to the resources around us,” he said.

Mr Ong added that the standards would help consumers gain confidence that the fish they are buying will be from a reputable source and safe to eat as well as that the farm producing the fish would also care for the environment, the health of the fish and the welfare of its workers.

Correction note: A previous version of this story stated that the SG GAP would be replaced by the new agri-food standards and that 11 such farms had received the previous certification. This is inaccurate. The newsmaker has clarified that the SG GAP certification is based on the new standards and eight such farms are currently certified to have met the standards.