Promoting Demand for Locally Grown Produce

3 Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) other than the SG Fresh Produce Label, what efforts are in place to increase demand for locally grown produce; and (b) how many local companies have successfully applied for the label.

The Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Mr Desmond Tan) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): Mr Speaker, local food production plays an important role in Singapore’s efforts to enhance the resilience of our food supply. To complement the ramp-up in local food production under the "30 by 30" goal, my Ministry supports the local farmers in a few ways.

Last year, we ran the Singapore Food Story campaign to raise consumer appreciation and support for local produce. As part of the campaign, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) launched the SG Fresh Produce (SGFP) logo to help consumers identify and support local produce. The logo was designed in consultation with industry stakeholders and over 2,200 members of the public. To-date, over 50 local farms, distributors and supermarket retailers have successfully applied to use the logo on their produce packaging and marketing collaterals.

SFA is also helping to promote local produce through promotions and better branding and display at major retailers like NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Sheng Siong and Prime Supermarket. In the virtual space, the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation Limited (SAFEF) has partnered Lazada’s Redmart to launch an e-SG Farmers’ Market page. This offers consumers the convenience of choosing over 100 local produce items from 20 local farms at the click of their fingertips. As part of its outreach, SFA has helped to connect farms with potential corporate buyers, such as food and beverage and retail establishments, to negotiate possible offtake arrangements and partnerships.

Later this year, a "Clean and Green" standard for urban farms will be launched. This certification recognises local farms that have adopted resource-efficient farming practices and ensured clean farming environments. It serves as a mark of assurance to our consumers that the produce from these farms are not only free from synthetic pesticides, but are also grown in a sustainable way.

In the spirit of Singapore Together, the Ministry for Sustainability and the Environment and SFA convened a Citizens’ Workgroup last year to co-create ideas to increase demand for local produce. Arising from their recommendations, we have recently announced plans to work with industry partners and interested members of the Citizen’s Workgroup to pilot two projects targeted at marketing local produce to two key customer groups: new mothers' first meal after delivery and patrons at our markets.

While SFA will continue to support local farmers through promotions and initiatives mentioned above, increasing demand for local produce is ultimately the responsibility of the farmers. Producing good quality and safe farm products, giving good value to the consumers and getting production at a competitive cost level will ensure the sustainability of our local farming industry. We will work closely with the farmers and the stakeholders to help local produce gain market acceptance in Singapore.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, I thank the Minister of State for his response. I think many appreciate the fact that we are tackling food security and note that we have a "30 by 30" goal. But there are concerns that as we ramp up production and improve productivity, whether there is also an equal focus on and resources being put towards ensuring and monitoring that production is environmentally sustainable.

To that end, I am glad to hear about the upcoming "Clean and Green" standard and also the work of the Citizens' Workgroup.

But, for example, practices such as proper waste management, how will that be looked into? I would be very grateful if the Ministry could share some of its plans in this regard. And also to what extent is food from land-based and sea-based farms exported for consumption overseas instead of being consumed here in Singapore, and does that go towards our "30 by 30" goal?

Mr Desmond Tan: I thank the Member for her supplementary question. There are actually two parts to the question. The first is on how, as we ramp up, we continue to ensure that environmental sustainability is taken into account. The second is on export. So, I would touch on the first part, first.

First of all, the "30 by 30" goal, is precisely to give us this opportunity to relook at how we can create the agri-food hub in Lim Chu Kang as part of the master planning. Through the process of masterplanning, we can, not just increase the productivity of our produce, but also to take into account some of the environmental factors in the design of the land use as well as the methods in which the farming technology can be introduced in this new plan.

To give you an example, as part of the design of the Lim Chu Kang masterplanning, we will be taking into consideration the possibility of integrating different services together, as a shared service, for example, the waste management that the Member talked about. This will allow us to ensure that the environment factors are taken into account and to pool the resources together from different farming industries and technology to be introduced to ensure that the environment is protected.

Having this hub also allows us to ensure the integration of some of the services from the food waste to industry feed and food feed or vegetable feed. To give you an example, poultry waste can be recycled to produce biogas, which can then provide some energy for the farms. At the same time, the solid waste from poultry waste can also be used as fertilisers for the vegetables.

These are some of the ideas that we will be implementing and this gives us an opportunity not just to ramp up the productivity but also to ensure that environmental sustainability will be taken into account.

The second part of the question is about exports. Today, most of our local produce are catered towards local markets. In the coming "30 by 30" plan, we envisage it is likely to be the same. However, we do understand that the exporting of vegetables and produce will allow our farms to gain economies of scale, lower their costs and become competitive regional players.

So, we will work with ESG and the agencies to support our markets to facilitate their exports, where necessary, and to ensure that we do not just have a very vibrant agri-food hub in Singapore, but also a competitive one in the region.