SINGAPORE
By Charles Phang*
Today-Apr 15
Hidden within greenhouses atop the building of a research institute within the National University of Singapore (NUS) is a cutting-edge invention which seeks to be an answer to the region’s food security woes.
Scientists from the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory recently developed a special type of rice which has been bred to be resistant to certain types of bacteria and fungi, as well as withstand adverse weather conditions. Known as Temasek Rice, this new “super crop” is one of the latest in a slew of research and development projects in Singapore aimed at boosting food security in the country.
Such innovations are vital, given that land-scarce Singapore only grows 10 per cent of its food, which has made it heavily dependent on neighbouring countries for food supplies.
Like the majority of Asian countries, rice is a perennial staple in Singapore, and is imported from countries which continue to grapple with their own food security issues due to floods, drought, natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
This led scientists Dr Luo Yanchang, and Dr Yin Zhongchao from the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory to invent Temasek Rice as a means of safeguarding the literal rice bowl of our region, by ensuring that our neighbours can continue to enjoy a bountiful harvest to feed themselves and the rest of Asean.
“The development of Temasek Rice is not the effort of just Singapore but also the efforts of regional countries,” Dr Yin said.
“We want to develop more than one rice line, different versions of this rice, so we can have a good rice variety which can grow in different places, and benefit the local farmers.”
When asked if this type of research can be applied to other type of crops, Dr Yin said that “the technology is there,” and that given time, he is confident it can be used to develop other kinds of weather and bacteria-resistant tropical crops for South-east Asia.
Apart from Temasek Rice, another research project that has excited scientists is the Black Solider Fly initiatives led by Professor Rudolf Meier at the NUS’ department of biological sciences.
Professor Meier and his team have found an eco-friendly way of dealing with the country’s food waste as an alternative to incineration.
His solution is tapping on the larvae of the Black Solider Fly as natural bio-converters to break down food waste into nutrient-rich compost, which can then be used in agriculture, in what is known as a “closed loop system.”
“Sometimes we can learn from nature by just copying engineering solutions,” Prof Meier said.
“In other cases, we may as well use nature to do the recycling. And in the case of the Black Soldier Fly, I think they’re so optimised for doing exactly this job, we may as well use them as they are.”
This self-sustaining and eco-friendly farming model can easily be applied to urban farming, which is the new face of agriculture in Singapore.
Citizen Farm, an urban farm located in Singapore’s Queenstown area, has been quick to jump on the bandwagon by adopting this concept.
Unlike traditional vegetable farms in Singapore, Citizen Farm is located within walking distance of Housing Development Board (HDB) flats and condominiums. It has found its niche in producing herbs, salad greens and edible flowers for restaurants.
Darren Ho, the head of Citizen Farm, is confident of expanding urban farming to other parts of the country.
“Urbanisation is unavoidable in today’s context and cities are getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing if we can do it sustainably. So urban farming provides that backdrop to be a self-sufficient city.”
The Black Solider Fly initiatives at both NUS and Citizen Farm, are testament to how research and innovation is helping transform agriculture and food production in Singapore.
Despite not being an agricultural country, Singapore cannot afford to neglect agriculture because it is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia, our backyard from which we get our food supplies.
Most of the Asean member states also remain heavily dependent on the agricultural sector as an engine of growth for their respective economies, as well as for their daily needs.
Further afield, there is growing awareness among Indonesian farmers of the urgent need to improve their knowledge of issues such as climate change and adapt their farming operations.
A case in point is Suntenjaya Village, which is nestled among the landslide-prone hills of West Bandung in the Indonesian Island of Java.
It is home to a predominantly Sundanese community, most of whom are farmers who have lived off the land for more than three generations. Growing vegetables is the only trade they have ever known.
While many in the community hope to pass on their skills to their children, they are concerned about issues such as the advancement of technology, urban redevelopment and climate change, which threaten to put them out of work.
This has prompted the local community to throw their support behind the Geger Sunten Learning Centre, a local non-governmental school, which provides heavily subsidised education at a mere US$2 (S$2.62) per student, a month and a curriculum tailored for young farmers.
Topics related to climate change, pest control, and plant-affecting disease, are woven into subjects like science and geography.
It is heartening to see such an initiative being embraced by the farmers in Bandung, which like the recent R&D projects in Singapore such as Temasek Rice and the Black Solider Fly initiatives, is a prime example of how communities in Asean are using education and research to strengthen agriculture, in their respective countries.
Key to the survival of this traditional yet critical sector are the different programmes aimed at transforming the agricultural sector, be it the high-tech farming technology or community-based initiatives like Geger Sunten.
They all rely on the most important farming tool of all – knowledge, to ensure that the region will continue to enjoy a fruitful harvest, in years to come.
Charles Phang is one of the producers of the Channel NewsAsia documentary series, Tapestry: The Heart of Asean. You can watch an episode on this topic titled, Asean’s Bountiful Harvest at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video-on-demand/tapestry-the-heart-of-Asean/Asean-s-bountiful-harvest-10082730
(first published in Today – https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/strengthening-agriculture-safeguard-aseans-rice-bowl )
