Historical Context

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Since Singapore gained its independence in 1965, the country has embarked on a rapid course of modernization and industrialization. Prior to 1965, Singapore was structured as a collection of small farming villages, in 1970, farming still made up of nine percent of the total workforce.[1] By 1988, however, urbanization had reduced the land area used for farming to approximately three percent of Singapore’s total 700 square kilometers of land.[2] Today, less than one and a half percent of the land in Singapore is arable, and the country imports more than ninety percent of its food supply. Nonetheless, as of July 2017, Singapore was ranked by the Global Food Security Index as the second most food secure nation in the world.

 

Agro-Political Context

 

Singapore’s agricultural policy and regulations significantly impact LFS development. As a result of the 1967 Land Acquisition Act, the Singapore government owns ninety percent of land in the city-state. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) oversees Singapore’s land planning, which is outlined up to fifty years in advance. In Singapore’s Concept and Master Plans, land is zoned for specific uses, one of which is “commercial land-based agriculture.” Within zones, land may be allocated through direct allocation or through open tender land allocation schemes. Agricultural land allocation is usually carried out through a tender process with inflated prices and strict regulatory requirements; thereby, less-established farmer applicants are left at a disadvantage when trying to obtain land. [3] Ultimately, Singapore farmers face competition from other government-sponsored land uses and must follow government orders regarding land management. One notable instance of this is the lease expiry of 62 farms in Lim Chu Kang Agro-technology Park, which was previously zoned for agriculture but will be converted into a military ground in 2019.

 

Nevertheless, Singapore has a stringent, diversified food security strategy, which secures local and imported food supply. According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), Singapore’s 2013 Food Security Roadmap outlines policies that help local farms improve productivity through the Food Fund, supports farmers through dissemination of technology and knowledge derived from the AVA’s own agricultural research and development, and encourages companies to adopt “advanced technologies used overseas.”

 

Small-scale farming in Singapore takes two main forms: peri-urban farming in the Kranji Countryside and urban farming in the city center. Kranji, a largely industrial suburb in Northwest Singapore, is also the home of multiple military bases and more than one hundred farms. In 2005, the creation of the Kranji Countryside Association (KCA)—a nonprofit organization that promotes local agriculture, food security and sustainability, education, conservation, and agri-tourism—represented a momentous step towards unifying Singaporean farmers and protecting their farms and farming methods. Contrasting the small-scale farms in Kranji, Singapore’s few urban farms, most commonly found on rooftops, align well with the AVA’s prioritization of high-tech farming. However, there is a current lack of political infrastructure that enables the streamlined development of new, urban farms.

 

Farmers who wish to farm outside of agriculture zones may do so with a permit granted by the Ministry of National Development; however, there is no current fixed procedure to apply for a farming permit, and so the application process is lengthy and bureaucratic. For example, to receive its farming license, ComCrop endured a two-year process, visiting and meeting separate requirements from the National Environmental Agency, Building, and Construction Authority; the AVA; and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.[4] The bureaucracy involved in obtaining an urban farming permit, along with the AVA’s frequent relocation available farmland, short-term leases, and bias towards high-tech farms has caused considerable controversy amongst Singaporean farmers.

 

Research Intent

 

I studied peri-urban, urban, production-focused, and socially oriented (not production-focused) farms to understand the social and political implications of local food production in Singapore (see Appendix D for a table detailing each local farm I studied and its categorization). Furthermore, I examined how the government’s Food Security Roadmap has influenced local producers’ and other Singaporean residents’ production and consumption practices and their conceptions of food security.

 

Local Food Organizations, Agricultural Awareness, & Urban Food Security

 

Cultural Context: Agricultural awareness in Singapore

 

During my first week in Singapore, I conducted interviews with organizers of community gardens, educational farms, and urban farm supply and consulting businesses. Each of my interviewees emphasized to me how little the average Singaporean knows about gardening or farming. For example, my interviewees said…

 

• “In Singapore, an understanding of where food comes from is just not there.”

• “We don’t have knowledge of where our food comes from.”

• “My biggest worry is that people don’t know how to grow anything over here.”

• “There’s nothing farming-related in our education system.”

• “Surprisingly, not a lot of people know how to garden here. It’s just not even a thing.”

• “Everybody has black thumbs in Singapore.”

• “The lack of common knowledge here is crazy sometimes—in gardening.”

• “At the end of the day, when the supermarket goes dry, we’re screwed.”

 

Leaders of two prominent local farms in Singapore—Bollywood Veggies and Citizen Farm—emphasized how LFS are important because they increase people’s awareness of LFS, which may ensure the city’s food security in the long-run. Manda Foo, the manager of Bollywood Veggies, explained the importance of Bollywood Veggies’ educational activities in terms of the country’s food security—despite that Bollywood Veggies is currently only accessible to a small portion of Singaporeans. Darren Tan, on the other hand, explained the importance of City Farm’s production-focused farming activities to make local farming in Singapore too prominent an activity to go unnoticed—by all Singaporeans.

 

            Bollywood Veggies: A peri-urban, educational farm

 

Bollywood Veggies, founded by Ivy Singh in 2001, quickly gained international prominence as an educational farm and a pioneering social enterprise. Bollywood Veggies is a ten-acre farm cooperative, educational center, restaurant, and tourist-destination in Northwest Kranji. The Bollywood Veggies farm, where soil-grown crops are produced without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, or genetic modification, supplies its own restaurant and a weekly farmers market. Indeed, Bollywood Veggies caters to a select demographic of Singaporeans. Foo explained that the establishment of Bollywood Veggies’ farmers market in 2010 provided the farm with much more “mass appeal,” but that it’s still for Bollywood Veggies difficult to engage with many Singaporeans. There is no public transportation in the Kranji Countryside, and most patrons at Bollywood Veggies are educated, interested in learning about LFS, and have cars. Nevertheless, Foo explained that due Singapore’s land constraints, the country can only produce enough food to support ten-to-twenty percent of the population. So, Foo asked, why not sell it to those who support Bollywood Veggies’ mission and are able to pay the proper price for their food?

 

Foo deems Bollywood Veggies “the motherhood of all farms,” due its leadership role in making Singapore residents and the government more aware and supportive of agriculture in the Kranji Countryside. Indeed, Bollywood Veggies’ story conveys how agricultural and food security education may help secure Singapore’s food security over time. Bollywood Veggies’ educational outreach engenders “awareness, education, and brand-building” amongst Singaporean consumers and other farms, which thereby drives demand for local food. For example, Foo encounters many Singaporeans who are interested in local food yet don’t know much about local Singaporean farms, nevertheless how to support the local food economy. A visit to Bollywood Veggies educates Singaporeans on how they can support the local food economy’s development—that is, by seeking out local produce in the Kranji Countryside or even in supermarkets in the city center. Ultimately, consumer demand for local food in Singapore is critical to ensuring continued local food production.

 

Singh and Bollywood Veggies have instigated monumental changes to Singapore’s agricultural policy, which have enhanced farmers’ livelihoods and increased the potential for LFS development. Since Singapore gained independence, the government has prioritized industry over agriculture, and the country’s agricultural heritage has largely been lost to housing and industry developments. To help ensure present-day farmers’ livelihoods, Singh, Bollywood Veggies, and the Kranji Countryside Association (established by Singh) have helped farmers gain rights to build houses, workers’ quarters, educational centers, and restaurants on farms. Singaporean farmers’ newfound access to alternative forms of income helps secure their livelihoods in face of environmental, economic, and political uncertainty. Furthermore, farmers’ initiatives to engage non-farmers in agriculture—by hosting educational programs or connecting with consumers through direct market channels—helps sustain the farmers’ businesses and ensure reliable local food production.

 

Citizen Farm: A production-focused, socially-oriented urban farm

 

Edible Garden City (EGC), a forerunner of Singapore’s local food movement, runs a variety of agriculture, educational, and social enterprises, including Citizen Farm, one of EGC’s primary initiatives. Citizen Farm was founded to be a sustainable model of urban farming that emphasizes agricultural production. Darren Ho, the head of Citizen Farm, explained that the farm’s founders “wanted to take a critical look into urban farming and the impacts it can generate.” Today, Citizen Farm impacts the local community through its roles as a startup incubator for urban farming products, an employer of people with disabilities and elderly people, and a producer of twenty-to-100 kilograms of crops per day.

 

Ho’s strategy for increasing Singaporeans’ awareness about local agricultural production differs from Bollywood Veggies due to the farm’s location and production methods. Unlike Bollywood Veggies, Citizen Farm is located close to Singapore’s urban center and uses a variety of high-tech growing methods, such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical towers, to maximize its agricultural productivity within a small area. Still, Citizen Farm’s experimental methods do not inhibit the farm’s ability to provide consumers with a direct relationship to their farmer, knowledge of how their food is grown (e.g. without pesticides), and an understanding of easy it is for anybody to grow their own food—what Ho believes are three key benefits of local food production.

 

Since its founding, Citizen Farm has sold high-value crops like micro greens, herbs, and edible flowers to more than thirty restaurants and bars in Singapore. In December 2017, Citizen Farm, also launched their Community Supported Agriculture-style box, “Citizen Box,” which is sold directly to Singapore residents. Citizen Farm’s pioneering entrepreneurial initiatives reflects the newness of profitable urban farms in Singapore. Citizen Farm’s embrace of innovative technology and production-based goals, which contrasts Bollywood Veggies’ mission and goals, reveals Singaporean local food organizations’ range of approaches to increase the country’s food security.

 

Other Local Food Organizations: A brief review

 

Beyond farms, other Singaporean local food system activities and enterprises embrace a greater variety of approaches to increase Singaporeans’ agricultural awareness and possibly, the city’s food security. Furthermore, interviews I conducted at nonprofit organizations, community groups, and businesses that sell equipment for home gardening illuminated the importance of Singaporeans’ agricultural awareness to foster sustainable development of a food system that serves its community’s needs.

 

For example, Ground Up Initiative (GUI), founded in 2008, is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization whose goal is to “rekindle the spirit of Kampung,” the farming villages that existed throughout Singapore before its rapid urbanization. GUI aims to connect Singaporeans to their country’s natural environmental and revitalize the community spirit of farm culture in present day. It runs a variety of community programs and educational activities, as well as three social enterprises on its soon-to-be two point six hectares of land in a park in Yishun, Singapore. GUI is an exceptionally organized nonprofit with a strategic plan for its future development. Furthermore, its large campus is critical to achieving its mission—galvanize Singaporeans ‘connection with food production and community members.

 

In contrast, Foodscape Collective pursues its mission—to reshape Singapore’s food system—by prompting conservation about local food in a variety of informal and formal venues. The different means through which these two organizations aim to achieve their similar goals reflects the broad possibilities for a variety of LFS activities in Singapore to raise Singaporeans’ awareness about and interest in LFS.

 

Other organizations, such as Grow and Aerospring Gardens, provide practical services for Singaporeans to gain experience gardening at their homes. Grow is a nonprofit EGC initiative that serves as an urban farm shop and training center for home gardeners. Aerospring Gardens is a small business that sells vertical towers for people to grow food in their homes. The managers of Grow and founders of Aerospring emphasized the growing movement—for Singaporeans of all socioeconomic class—to garden at home, despite how little Singapore people know about gardening. They each hope to be a part of the expanding resource base for Singaporean growers.

 

Agricultural Awareness & Singapore’s Food Security

 

Direct consumer support is critical to the sustainability, continued innovation, and agricultural productivity of local farms in Singapore. Furthermore, both production-focused and socially-oriented local farms educate Singaporeans about the health-related, environmental, and food security-related implications of LFS. Indeed, Singaporeans’ general lack of agricultural knowledge is why Darren Ho, Head Farmer at Citizen Farm, is insistent on “shoving farming in people’s faces.” Like Foo, Ho sees education and awareness as a key step towards increasing Singapore’s food security.

 

The organizations discussed—Bollywood Veggies, Citizen Farm, GUI, Foodscape Collective, Grow, and Aerospring Gardens—constitute just a small portion of the organizations that constitute Singapore’s growing local food movement. Despite their significant differences, each of these organizations teaches urban residents about environmental and social issues caused by different methods of agricultural production and local versus nonlocal food systems. That education may in turn make residents more conscious food consumers and likely to support the development of more sustainable, production-focused, LFS in Singapore. Singaporeans’ greater food literacy also increases residents’ health by prompting them (those with the time and financial means) to grow or purchase healthier food.

 

Local Farms, Local Food Politics, & Urban Food Security

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ComCrop: A commercial urban farm

 

ComCrop is one of Singapore’s few rooftop farms. It was the first rooftop farm to receive its farming license from the AVA, and its employees have worked closely with multiple government agencies to make Singapore’s farming policies rooftop farm-friendly. My visits to a range of commercial farms, multi-purpose commercial and educational farms, and nonprofit organizations illuminated how Singaporeans’ agricultural awareness may help secure the country’s food security. While ComCrop’s narrative confirms that, it also illustrates a more direct relationship between LFS and food security in Singapore. Furthermore, ComCrop’s successes and challenges reveal how current government policy enables and constrains Singaporean LFS.

 

Darren Tan described to me how his experiences as ComCrop’s Outreach Coordinator have shaped his perception of the potential for small-scale UPA to contribute to Singapore’s food security. As a farm, ComCrop’s most basic goal is to produce food. Beyond providing nutritious food for its adjacent community members, ComCrop aims to be a place where people come together. In fact, that second goal of ComCrop’s is rooted in its beginnings as a community farm. Tan’s explanation of why ComCrop transitioned from a community farm to a commercial farm, conveys key considerations regarding the potential for UPA to contribute to Singapore’s—or any city’s—food security.

 

“It was clear that as a community farm, we were never going to be able to provide for the community—based on donations, based on goodwill, based on a few people coming in to help every day. It was not a sustainable means of food production. And ultimately [transitioning to become a commercial farm] tied in with our ultimate goal, which is to produce food. The logical transition [for us] was to become a commercial farm. And of course, we still tried to embody all the values that we had as a community farm. It’s nice to say that you want to get everybody to grow their own food. But coming from a farmer’s perspective… firstly, that’s not going to go down well with all people. Secondly, I know the time they will spend trying to grow their own food could be better spent with a few people really trying to grow intensively. So, I’m not against growing food for yourself. But I don’t think that how society is going to evolve into one where everybody grows their own food. As space becomes a luxury, then it’s going to be quite difficult for [commercial farms] to increase their productivity to cater to Singaporeans.”

 

As an employee of a commercial urban farm, Darren has responded directly to challenges caused by Singapore’s limited, conventional agricultural land, the government’s intransigent agricultural policies, and the country’s high rate of imports. Unlike Bollywood Veggies, ComCrop aims to produce enough food to fund its whole enterprise. Unlike Citizen Farm, it does so without a nonprofit umbrella organization. ComCrop does run a variety of social programs that benefit at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and Singaporeans who are food insecure; however, those components of ComCrop do not increase its financial security. In fact, ComCrop currently restricts itself to growing high revenue crops, like basil, mint, and ghost peppers, to ensure its financial viability. Furthermore, due to its small selection of products, ComCrop currently sells its produce to a small, exclusive group of Singaporean consumers—mostly high-end, Western-style restaurants.

 

ComCrop’s pioneer rooftop farm status in Singapore has privileged it to work closely with government agencies to ensure it adheres to government legislation. For example, to keep up with building codes, all ComCrop’s farming structure must be removable. This nuanced detail depicts the current lack of infrastructure that the Singapore government provides for the development of rooftop farms. Nonetheless, Tan emphasized how ComCrop has worked together with government agencies to determine what city policies need adjusting to best foster the development of urban farming. Hopefully, those adjustments will be implemented through future legislature.

 

            Additional Food Security Context

 

Singapore has secure trade relations with almost 200 countries. As of July 2017, the government’s dedication to maintain its diversified imports had made Singapore the second most food secure nation in the world—a particular feat given the country’s low rates of agricultural production. Yet there is always political uncertainty, and increasingly volatile economic and environmental conditions threaten the dependability of country’s established trade partnerships.

High food prices Singaporeans faced during the 2007/2008 global food crisis exemplify how environmental uncertainty, depleted natural resources, and climate change cause market instability, which makes Singapore less food secure. The 2007/2008 crisis was caused by factors ranging from droughts to high oil prices. During the crisis, Singapore’s imported food prices increased more than twelve percent.[5]

 

Indeed, to prepare for environmental, economic, and political disturbances, Singapore’s Food Security Roadmap ensures that there are plentiful rice stockpiles on hand. Singapore currently stockpiles a three-month supply of rice by requiring importers to import a minimum of fifty tons each year and keep a two-month stockpile in government warehouses. Yet in case of severe food insecurity, rice alone would not be sufficient ensure Singaporeans health and safety. Singapore’s local production—and potential for increased local production under extreme circumstances—is critical to provide the country with a greater physical and psychological buffer in case of decreased safe, imported food. The AVA estimates that Singapore could produce twenty percent of its food domestically, which would provide a significant amount of available, safe, nutritious food in case Singapore’s current food security status is threatened.[6]

 

The Politics Behind LFS & Food Security

 

Interviews with leaders of local food organizations in Singapore made clear that consumer demand is necessary to support local farms and ensure Singapore’s current—and growing—level of self-sufficiency. But why are consumers so crucial to securing the existence of farms in Singapore? Why must Singaporean residents be held responsible to support local farms when “optimizing local food production” is a core component of Singapore’s Food Security Roadmap?

 

The AVA’s main avenue through which it supports local farms is its Agricultural Productivity Fund. The two current active funding schemes, the Basic Capability Upgrading Scheme and the Productivity Enhancement Scheme, cofund the purchase of equipment that may increase a farm’s productivity. However, the majority of these programs’ funding is restricted to help farms grow a small list of crops, including eggs, fish, and leafy vegetables. Mr. Kawh Boon Wan, Minister for National Development, stated how local farms “must invest in technology and adopt efficient farming methods so that they can grow more with less land and fewer workers.”[7]

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Per Singapore’s prevailing agricultural policies, to “optimize” means to maximize agricultural productivity of key food items like eggs, fish, and leafy vegetables; a meaning that my liberal interviewees who run socially-oriented local food organizations believe is not in their favor. They explained that Singapore’s current “optimization” does not provide Singaporeans with the safe, healthy food that they demand.

 

In addition to the Agricultural Productivity Fund, other outstanding government policies threaten the sustainability of existing local farms and inhibit the development of future farms. Singapore’s agricultural land allocation practices and minimum crop yield requirements are particularly unsympathetic to small and organic farms. Singapore’s mandated short-term agricultural leases prevent farmers from gaining secure access to farmland for more than twenty years. The short-term leases impede farmers’ ability to make capital-intensive technological advancements that could boost their productivity—even with the help of the Agricultural Productivity Scheme. For example, in 2019, the leases of 62 farms in Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park will expire, Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park will be converted into a military ground, and those 62 farms will have to relocate. While the exact details of the new land each farm will be allocated have yet to be announced, those 62 farms will be competing for a smaller total agricultural land area. When they bid for the new land, the farms will have to compete with each other in a way they haven’t before, and the government will prioritize agricultural land for “strategic” food farms that produce fish, eggs, and leafy greens.

 

I spoke to Fabian Liao, Sales and Marketing Manager of Quan Fa Organic Farm, which is currently located in Lim Chi Kan Agrotechnology Park. Liao explained how it would be nearly impossible for Quan Fa to move to a new, smaller piece of land in 2019, maintain current organic production standards, and meet Singapore’s minimum productivity requirement. Quan Fa, which currently produces six-to-eight tons of food a month, currently struggles to meet Singapore’s minimum production requirements. Since the end of its lease is approaching, it would not be financially beneficial to make any technological investments, like those the Singapore government promotes, to increase its crop yields. In 2019, Quan Fa will likely not move to a new piece of land in Singapore. Instead, Liao is investigating the possibilities of moving the farm across international borders—to Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand.

 

Enduring Questions

 

Why does it matter that Quan Fa Organic Farm may be forced to move out of Singapore? The Singapore government has targeted eggs, fish, and leafy greens as strategic, nutritional foods to provide for Singaporeans’ food security in case of a crisis. The government has also allocated financial resources towards the development of high-productivity, high-tech farms to ensure Singapore’s food security. Yet Singapore’s agricultural policies, which aim to maximize immediate agricultural productivity, may overlook the long-term environmental sustainability and cultural value of local agriculture.

 

The idea that local farms may provide more culturally appropriate food than imported food veers more into the realm of food sovereignty rather than food security; however, Manda Foo of Bollywood Veggies also described the straightforward, food security-related benefits of producing indigenous crops.* Since indigenous crops are acclimated to Singapore’s environmental conditions, they don’t attract pests or weeds and thus are easier to produce without fertilizer or pesticides. Foo also cited the greater nutritional benefits of indigenous vegetables than the crops the Singapore government promotes, like leafy greens; leafy greens often have lower caloric contents and fewer nutrients than the wide variety of indigenous vegetables Bollywood Veggies grows.

 

My interviewees argued that the Singapore government runs perverse incentive schemes where it offers to co-fund big technological investments but does not provide farmers with secure, long-term leases so farmers can profit from those investments. Is it possible that the Singapore government is over-prioritizing immediate productivity without taking into account how recently developed technologies and intensive farming methods may not provide the country with long-term food security? Has the government ensured that their minimum farming quotas aren’t depleting its rich soil and thereby inhibiting future agricultural productivity? Do Singapore’s highly productive farms provide the most healthy, safe food for its citizens? Alternatively, is the government’s bias against traditional, environmentally-oriented farming a problem? Could smaller scale, hobby or educational farms take over the niche demand for soil-grown, organic food?

 

My own research in Singapore was insufficient to conclusively answer these questions; furthermore, it was significantly biased towards local food proponents’ side of the story. Further research should investigate whether Singapore’s agricultural policies incentivize intensive farming methods that may threaten the future viability of its farmland. However, given the Singaporean government’s emphasis—and the global media hype—on urban and rooftop farms in Singapore, the trajectory of Singapore’s peri-urban versus urban agricultural developments is also uncertain. Perhaps in a few years, urban farms will contribute more food to Singapore than traditional, peri-urban farms. However, despite their international media attention, both Darren Ho of Citizen Farm and Darren Tan of ComCrop emphasized the experimental nature of their production methods and early stages of development of their own urban farming enterprises. Furthermore, Singapore currently lacks the appropriate policy, resource pools, and knowledge base to rapidly expand its urban farming industry. Urban farming is still a fledgling industry in Singapore.

 

*A note on food sovereignty: It’s difficult to objectively explain the potential connection between local agriculture providing Singaporeans access to culturally significant food and Singaporeans’ food security; any country’s agricultural history and local cuisine is inherently intertwined to its people’s cultural connections, wellbeing, and emotions. Despite how important growing indigenous vegetables may be to sustain Singaporeans’ livelihood, my research is focused on food security, rather than food sovereignty. Many times, I considered transitioning my research focus from food security to food sovereignty, of which cultural appropriateness is a very key component, but I ultimately chose not to. Nonetheless, food sovereignty is a very important topic. If this topic is new to you, I highly recommend a google search…

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Summary & Key Takeaways

 

In Singapore, local farms’ successes, challenges, and impact by the government’s 2013 Food Security Roadmap indicate how local food production might increase the city’s food security—through direct and indirect pathways. Despite Singapore’s recent agricultural history, most residents lack awareness of Singaporean agricultural production. Studying a variety of local food organizations, including education-oriented local farms, illuminated how local food organizations may increase urban residents’ agricultural awareness, make them more conscious food consumers, and thereby contribute to the sustainability of production-focused local farms. However, the question remains as to whether awareness is enough to ensure Singapore’s food security.

 

By visiting production-focused farms, I learned how LFS can directly increase Singapore’s food security: by ensuring a greater buffer in case of environmental or economic shocks that changes the quantity, quality, or price of imported food. However, urban farms’ high-priced products are only accessible to a small portion of Singapore’s population. Furthermore, the government’s agricultural funding programs are biased towards funding high-productivity and urban farms. This selective funding may compromise farms’ potential to be environmentally sustainable and meet consumers’ quality demands. It also conflicts with Singapore’s lack of political infrastructure for the development of urban farms.

 

My own research was insufficient to determine whether traditional or high-tech farms and whether investments into diversifying food imports or making local farms more productive are more important to ensure Singapore’s food security. To ensure Singapore’s food security, the government should make agricultural policy more conducive to the development of socially-oriented and production-focused urban and peri-urban farms while maintaining the country’s diversified imports.

 

 

[1] AVAVision. (2015). Singapore's Food Farms: A Story of 'Then and Now'. Retrieved from http://www.ava.gov.sg/files/avavision/issue4_2015/sg50_special.html

[2] LePoer, LePoer, Barbara Leitch, & Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. (1989). Singapore: A country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division.

[3] Goh, E. L. (2017). Rooftop Farming in Singapore: Pockets of Hope? (bachelor’s thesis). National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ministry for National Development. (2015). A Case Study of Singapore’s Smart Governance of Food. Retrieved from https://www.clc.gov.sg/documents/books/smart_food_governance_paper-sg_case_study_final_sept%2028_3.pdf

[6] Many of my interviewees believed Singapore’s self-sufficiency could be significantly greater than twenty percent given the government’s current minimal land allocations towards agriculture. One local food leader whom I spoke to emphasized the overplay of Singapore’s land constraints: “The government says Singapore has no land, and that’s bullshit.” Singaporean agriculture currently takes up three percent of the country’s land area, golf courses take up two percent, and the military takes up twenty percent (Wikipedia).

[7] AVA. (2013). AVA Unveils Updates Food Security Roadmap. Retrieved from https://www.ava.gov.sg/files/avavision/issues3-4_2013/food-security-roadmap.html

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