CLC Urban Pioneer Lecture Series: Sustaining Singapore’s Farming Heritage
Learn more about how existing farms in Singapore have managed to remain economically viable and has provided a measure of fresh and quality food for our people and a thriving export trade in orchids, ornamental fish and crocodile skins.
Last updated 1 March 2025
This article has been migrated from an earlier version of the site and may display formatting inconsistencies.
Lecture details
CLC Urban Pioneer Lecture Series: Sustaining Singapore’s Farming Heritage
25 May 2016
3.00pm – 5.00pm. Registration from 2.30pm, seated by 3.00pm
MND Auditorium
Lecture video
Full Lecture
Sky Greens - Farming innovators
Dragon fish and orchids - Two farming successes
Seng Choon - A model Singapore farm
Singapore’s agro-tech parks
Beyond economics - Benefits of farming
Urban farming & R&D - Singapore’s role?
Synopsis
Farming had been a way of life for many Singaporeans since the nineteenth century. However, in the last 40 years, the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors in Singapore have seen many changes. Farmland has decreased from 15,000 hectares in the 1960s to 8000 hectares in 1980s to 1500 hectares in 2005 and currently less than 1000 hectares; due to industrialization, urbanization, public housing needs and water conservation. Despite this, existing farms in Singapore have managed to remain economically viable and has provided a measure of fresh and quality food for our people and a thriving export trade in orchids, ornamental fish and crocodile skins. Dr Ngiam Tong Tau who has actively promoted the farming sector for the past 40 years will share his observations on the rapid changes in the farming industry and the resilience and entrepreneurship of our farmers in meeting the challenges of farming in land scarce Singapore. He will also share his vision of the way forward for the farming sector.
Lecture report
Despite significant barriers including land scarcity, the local farm sector has evolved and innovated to produce forward-thinking, economically successful enterprises.
To keep Singapore's farming heritage and domestic sources of food supply alive however, government support and a review of policies is needed. Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, chairman of Sky Urban Solutions Holdings and former CEO of the AgriFood and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), made this point at a CLC lecture on 25 May.
“Our farms provide us with a good measure of our vegetable, egg and fish supply, as well as milk from cows and goats, frog and crocodile meat. The farms have also enabled Singapore to be recognised as an ornamental fish capital of the world as well as a leading exporter of quality orchids," said Dr Ngiam.
“Our farms have come of age and have the necessary experience to improve and expand production. I’m of the strong view that if land tenure can be extended to 30 years, our farms will take off, they will fly. More will be willing to invest in technology and expansion of their farms." Farms such as Seng Choon (eggs), Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm, Hay Dairies (goat milk) and Jurong Frog Farm have made use of modern technologies to become more efficient and meet market demands.
“Seng Choon [farm] broke away from the traditional farming methods and used automation and improved the feed for the hens to get better quality eggs…In 1999, Seng Choon began to convert its two tiered cages in open houses to multi-tiered cage systems. That is about six to eight tiers high in environment control and closed houses with cool air, tunnel ventilation.”
Vertical farming enterprise Sky Greens meanwhile has taken vegetable farming away from traditional soil cultivation, with its innovative technologies being exported to the United States, Saudi Arabia and China among others.
Many of the farms successful today are sited in agro-technology parks created by the Primary Production Department (now the AVA) and the Economic Development Board in the 1980s. This came after Singapore's traditional farms gave way to housing and industrial uses, redevelopment and public infrastructure in the decade before.
Recent years however have seen the reduction of farmland, resulting in a greater push for higher productivity
“I suggest a farmers cooperative be formed to own and manage the safeguarded farmland. This would be a more efficient and effective way for the allocation of land for various farming activities. Most of all, there must be constant R&D by the farms and the AVA to improve the productivity of the farms."
Participants at Dr Ngiam's lecture also discussed the agri-tourism and leisure aspects of the farm sector, locally-developed farming technologies that have been exported overseas and the potential of Singapore to be a major player in urban farming and agri-R&D.
Written by Alvin Chua.
About the Speakers
SPEAKER
Dr Ngiam Tong Tau
Chairman, Sky Urban Solutions
Former Chief Executive Officer
Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA)
Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, a Colombo Plan Scholar with a PhD from the University of London in Veterinary Medicine, has more than 40 years’ experience in the fields of veterinary medicine and public health, agriculture and aquaculture. He helmed the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (“AVA”) for 21 years during which time he spear-headed successful programmes in agrotechnology, aquaculture and food safety. He is recognised as the architect of modern farming and agrotechnology parks in Singapore and has been responsible for the transfer of farming technology to several countries in the region. He has also successfully established programmes to ensure food supply and food safety in Singapore through an Integrated Food Safety Program. For his distinguished service, Dr Ngiam has been awarded the National Meritorious Service Medal, Public Administration Medal (Gold), the Friend of Labour and the NTUC Meritorious Service Medal.
MODERATOR
Dr Paul Teng
Adjunct Senior Fellow (Food Security),
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies,
Nanyang Technological University
Dr Teng is Principal Officer at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has over 20 years of experience in food security issues, having held positions at the WorldFish Center, Malaysia; the International Rice Research Institute; and Monsanto Company. He is currently Honorary Chairman, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), an international and not-for-profit organization based in Cornell University, U.S.A.