The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has awarded over SGD 23 million in funding to 12 projects under the grant call for research and development (R&D) in ‘Sustainable Urban Food Production’. The grant call is under the Singapore Food Story (SFS) R&D Programme which aims to develop the local agri-tech R&D ecosystem and sustainable urban food solutions to support Singapore’s “30 by 30†goal1 for food security. The grant call will provide funding support for innovative research projects that address challenges facing the tropical aquaculture and urban agriculture industries.
The grant call was launched on 18 December 2019 and closed on 31 March 2020. More than 80 proposals were submitted by academia, research institutes and companies, with some having international partners as collaborators such as those from Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. The proposals were assessed on the following factors:
a) Contribution to grant objectives
b) Scientific excellence and innovation
c) Application and deployment in Singapore and commercialisation
d) Execution strength and technical competency of research team
Among the 12 awarded proposals, eight are in the domain of aquaculture and four in urban agriculture. They span key research areas of genetics, disease & health management, systems & conditions optimisation as well as nutrition.
The proposals incorporated innovative ideas and solutions that are aligned with the grant objectives to increase the productivity of local food producers, taking into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, resource use efficiency, sustainability and climate resilience. The proposals also demonstrated good potential to be scaled up and applied in Singapore and other countries based on their track record, industry experience and research team.
Lim Kok Thai, Chief Executive Officer of SFA said, “With challenges that impact global food security such as climate change, rising population and decreasing land for agricultural use, R&D holds the key to the future of food. The awarded proposals have shown both innovation and practicality for application and I have every confidence that the outcomes of their research will bring us closer towards a more resilient, sustainable and vibrant agri-tech sector in Singapore.â€
The aquaculture projects awarded under grant call for R&D in ‘Sustainable Urban Food Production are:
1. Achieving a sustainable aquaculture environment by specialised microbes- National University of Singapore (NUS); E and ST Environmental Pte Ltd.
2. Combinatorial supplementation of fish feeds through encapsulation for enhanced growth rates in aquaculture- Nanyang Technological University (NTU); Tropical Futures Institute – James Cook University Singapore; Opal Resources Pte Ltd
3. Developing genetic resources for red snapper, an important marine food fish for Singapore- Republic Polytechnic (RP), Tropical Futures Institute – James Cook University Singapore; Singapore Food Agency (SFA); Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT); Blue Ocean Harvest; Aquaculture Centre for Excellence (ACE)
4. Development of innovative strategies for disease management in aquaculture to increase production and ensure food safety- A*STAR – Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN); Temasek Polytechnic (TP)
5. Multipronged approach toward vaccine development against Scale Drop Disease Virus (SDDV) in
Asian seabass- A*STAR – Infectious Diseases (ID) Labs; A*STAR -Singapore Immunology Network
(SIgN); A*STAR – Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI); Uvaxx Pte Ltd
6. Optimising feeds for Singaporean red snapper aquaculture- Tropical Futures Institute – James Cook University Singapore; Singapore Food Agency (SFA); Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT)
7. Oral and immersion vaccines against viruses in Asian seabass- National University of Singapore (NUS), Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL)
8. Supercharging barramundi production through advanced selective breeding for improved disease resistance, growth and fillet traits- Tropical Futures Institute – James Cook University Singapore; Wageningen University; Barramundi Asia; Uvaxx Pte Ltd
