Local farms to get better supply of baby fish and shrimp; new $70 million top-up to agri fund: Zaqy
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Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad outlined Singapore’s vulnerability to external shocks and supply chain disruptions as a country heavily reliant on imports.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – Local farms will get more support to raise productivity, adopt technology, and gain access to high-quality livestock under new initiatives announced by the Ministry for Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) on March 4.
These include a $70 million boost from April to the existing Agri-food Clu ster Transformation (ACT) Fund
The new funding component was introduced in response to industry feedback, he said. It aims to co-fund strategic partnerships between farms and “ecosystem players” on the development and deployment of solutions that can support multiple farms.
An example of this would be integrated delivery systems that reduce transportation costs and improve the freshness of products.
The Government will also include red snapper in a national breeding programme established in 2024 to supply local farms with high-quality baby fish, to improve the profitability of farms, Mr Zaqy added.
Currently, the programme breeds Asian sea bass and marine tilapia.
“These premium fingerlings grow faster, they survive better, and they convert feed more efficiently, and that means farms reach market quicker with lower feed costs and fewer losses,” he said, adding that farms would be able to rely less on imported sources with less consistent quality and lower survival rates due to the long transport stress.
Mr Zaqy was laying out the various initiatives that his ministry plans to roll out to boost the flagging farming sector in Singapore
He outlined Singapore’s vulnerability to external shocks and supply chain disruptions as a country heavily reliant on imports.
“We must stay prepared for rising geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions which could disrupt our food supply. The latest chain of events in the Middle East only underscores this global climate of uncertainty,” he said.
On local production, Mr Zaqy said the Government had learnt from its experience in developing an initial national target
In 2024, the country produced 3 per cent of its vegetables and 6 per cent of its seafood, figures that have declined over the past four years. Meanwhile, the Republic has found more success with eggs, with local production steadily rising to 34.4 per cent that year.
This “30 by 30” goal was dropped in November 2025
Mr Zaqy was responding to Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang West), who had asked which policy assumptions had failed to cause the ministry to drop its targets. The chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Sustainability and the Environment also asked what lessons have been learnt from the failure of businesses in large-scale urban farms and plant proteins.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), which is under the MSE, had rolled out new targets. They include producing 20 per cent of the country’s consumption of fibre, a category that comprises leafy and fruited vegetables, bean sprouts and mushrooms.
Addressing questions from Ms Poh and Mr Ng Shi Xuan (Sembawang GRC) about Singapore’s failed farms and ventures in the alternative protein industry, Mr Zaqy said it will take time for the local farms to develop viable technologies and business models as most of the industry is still in an early phase of growth.
Mr Zaqy said Singapore’s refreshed local production targets focus on fibre and protein types that are feasible to be efficiently produced at scale in Singapore.
“We also have to be realistic about economics,” he said. “Our local farms will always face higher land and production costs compared to farms from the region. Unfortunately, that’s simply our reality.”
Associate Professor Christoph Winkler (right) and his team from NUS Department of Biological Sciences are seeking solutions to address fry growth deformities. Red snapper will be included in the national breeding programme, besides Asian sea bass and marine tilapia.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Technology adoption
On support for local farms, Mr Zaqy, who was addressing questions from Ms Lee Hui Ying (Nee Soon GRC) and Mr Cai Yinzhou (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), said the next tranche of co-funding support under the ACT Fund will be disbursed over five years.
SFA will also support technology demonstration projects that improve the productivity and consistency of output at aquaculture farms.
The ministry and SFA said in a joint statement that some technologies that perform well overseas may not be suitable to Singapore’s small-scale, tropical marine aquaculture farming environment.
They said: “Through these demonstration projects, SFA will work with farms and technology providers to test these solutions in real operating conditions, so that their technical performance and operational suitability can be assessed before farms commit significant investment.”
An SFA spokesperson said the industry will be engaged to identify possible technologies, with vaccination machines being a possible focus. SFA will then support these farms to adopt technologies that have been demonstrated successfully through the fund.
A ministry spokesperson said the agency will focus on supporting capital expenditure, instead of operating costs, to ensure that funding is as sustainable as possible.
Under the first tranche of the ACT Fund, $55 million was awarded to nearly 150 projects, enabling the installation of technologies like automated irrigation systems to reduce manual labour and climate-controlled environments that ensure year-round production.
More information about the application process for the second tranche of funding will be provided soon, said the ministry and SFA.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio GRC) asked for details of unsuccessful projects that had received the first tranche of funding.
In response, Mr Zaqy revealed that 60 companies had received the first tranche of funding. The number that folded is “very small”, amounting to about two out of 60, or a failure rate of about 3 per cent, he said.
Higher-quality resources
Aquaculture farms will also get better agricultural resources, said Mr Zaqy.
Other than including red snapper in the national breeding programme, the Government will also work towards industry-led efforts to increase the supply of young whiteleg shrimp and grouper.
These breeding efforts will be complemented with an integrated hatchery support programme, which will help local hatcheries adopt specialised feeds and quality vaccines that maximise the growth potential of high-quality seafood.
Mr Zaqy said: “High-quality eggs and fingerlings set the foundation, but health and nutrition inputs determine whether farms achieve optimal growth and disease resistance.”
Together, these initiatives to improve agricultural resources will help improve the quality of baby fish, raise yields and sharpen competitiveness, he added.
Singapore will also be upgrading its model to predict harmful algal blooms, which risk devastating harvests of aquaculture farms when sea surface temperatures rise.
One of the most deadly algal blooms
While not all algae are harmful, the overgrowth of some can suffocate fish, or damage their gills.
The new model will integrate forecasted weather conditions for more accurate environmental predictions, alerting farms ahead of anticipated events to implement measures that limit their losses, said Mr Zaqy.
Another early warning system has already provided greater lead time for action, according to Mr Zaqy.
He shared that a new risk monitoring dashboard and food supply visibility tool expedited Singapore’s risk assessments during Brazil’s avian influenza outbreaks in May 2025
Mr Zaqy said that while the Republic’s original “30 by 30” local production target had “successfully catalysed local production growth”, focusing mainly on one pillar – grow local – left the country vulnerable to the very disruptions it sought to address.
“A single-pillar approach, no matter how ambitious, cannot provide the food supply resilience that Singapore needs,” he added.
Nevertheless, growing a local food supply will remain an important pillar for Singapore’s food security.
“Local farms can provide us with a regenerative source of fresh food that is maintained even during prolonged disruptions,” said Mr Zaqy.
“More of our farms are moving towards controlled environments which makes them more climate-resilient and land-efficient.”
Singapore’s food supply is expected to be threatened by more frequent disruptions and shortages due to the intensifying effects of climate change, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.
“We will continue to innovate and take collective action to ensure Singapore’s basic needs are met, even in times of disruption,” she added.
