Firms with eco-friendly proposals awarded tenders to run two farms
Innovative features include smart lighting and integrated waste management
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr John Hay, founder of Hay Dairies, in front of his current farm in Lim Chu Kang. Hay Dairies has been awarded a tender for a 10,000 sq m parcel of land, also in Lim Chu Kang, for a general agriculture farm. The other 11,917 sq m land parcel, in Sungei Tengah, is for a vegetable farm.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOHN HAY
As part of the shift towards sustainable agriculture in Singapore, tenders have been awarded to companies with eco-friendly proposals to run two farms here.
Solar panels, smart lighting and integrated waste management systems are among innovative features proposed by the firms that were awarded 20-year leases: NextGen Farms and LivFresh for a vegetable farm in Sungei Tengah, and Hay Dairies for a general agriculture farm in Lim Chu Kang.
NextGen Farms and LivFresh plan to automate the growth of vegetables with technology such as hydroponic systems to increase farm productivity and reduce manpower on their 11,917 sq m plot in Sungei Tengah, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) yesterday.
The land parcel went for $174,000, based on a fixed-price tender method, with proposals assessed based on several criteria - including production capability, production track record as well as innovation and sustainability.
Meanwhile, Hay Dairies' 10,000 sq m land parcel in Lim Chu Kang was tendered for $500,000 via the concept and price tender method, which consists of two stages.
The first stage evaluates the proposals' concepts on criteria such as production capability. Those that pass the first stage are then evaluated on price.
The tenders for both sites were launched on Sept 15 last year and closed on Dec 1.
This latest move to build farms equipped with productive and sustainable technology comes as SFA aims to hit Singapore's "30 by 30" target - set in 2019 and outlined in the Singapore Green Plan 2030 - to produce 30 per cent of the country's nutritional needs through locally farmed food by 2030.
The use of technology could also cushion the agriculture sector from erratic rainfall patterns and rising temperatures caused by climate change.
The effects of climate change are increasingly felt as the frequency of extreme weather events increases, and this could disrupt global supply chains and threaten global food production.
$60m
Amount set aside for the Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to help farmers harness technology in local food production.
90%
Proportion of food Singapore imports, from more than 170 countries and regions.
On Feb 16, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that about $60 million has been set aside for the Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to help farmers harness technology in local food production. For example, farms can apply for co-funding support to implement technology to enhance the efficient use of resources such as water and waste.
Singapore currently imports over 90 per cent of its food from more than 170 countries and regions.
