Singapore invests S$40.5m in agri-food innovation to boost food security and sustainability

This could “create new markets for our farmers to play with”, so that they can compete differently from others, he said. 

“We have to create something new that will be special for Singapore.”

Another S$18.5 million will go to the AquaPolis aquaculture programme to reduce production costs and improve the quality of locally farmed Asian seabass. 

This includes breeding parasite-resistant juvenile seabass through selective breeding techniques.

Dr Richard Le Boucher, partnership director at AquaPolis, said local fish farmers face challenges such as securing affordable, high-quality feed and dealing with pathogen-related issues. 

He added that ongoing research aims to improve fish survival rates and enhance quality.

“They also face competition against other farms or other countries,” said Dr Le Boucher, who is also a research director at non-profit research organisation Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory. 

“So we try to improve the quality, for example the Omega-3 content of the fillet, by choosing good feed and improving the fish.”