Singapore: $10 million centre launched to solve urban farming challenges, boost food security
The team also hopes to breed new variations of fruits like strawberries and key crops for the production of alternative proteins like mung beans.
By Cheryl Tan
Straits Times
Aug 8, 2022
Excerpt:
Work has begun on altering the genetics of important crops like leafy greens to boost their nutritional value and make them more suitable for indoor farming.
This is among the research projects which will be helmed by scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) at its new $10 million Research Centre on Sustainable Urban Farming (Surf).
The centre will also tackle some of the complex challenges associated with urban farming.
Launched on Friday (Aug 5), the facility will bring together scientists across the university – from engineering to biological sciences – to develop novel and high-tech solutions for urban farming, said its director Prakash Kumar.
Singapore Food Agency’s chief executive Lim Kok Thai, who was a guest of honour at the event, said such advanced breeding strategies could enhance the efficacy of urban farming and eventually the Republic’s food security.
“With less than 1 per cent of our land available for food production, it is important that our farms adopt technology and innovation to grow food in a productive, climate resilient and resource efficient way,” he added.
