Could community gardens play a role in boosting Singapore’s food security?

Singapore’s ‘30-by-30’ food security strategy is under pressure from three global challenges: Climate change, supply chain disruptions induced by Covid-19, and  growing global demand for food.

By Jose M L Montesclaros And Paul Teng
Today Online
Nov 18, 2021

Excerpt:

An earlier study showed Housing and Development Board rooftops can provide 661ha of space for farming purposes, while the National Parks Board has also allocated more than 2,000 plots (2.5 sq m each) of allotment gardens in more than 23 parks/gardens.

There is further scope to expand the use of unused spaces like interim land and industrial spaces.

However, community gardens’ contributions to national food security have not been substantial in adding to the base level of national vegetable production.

Ensuring Singapore’s food security despite the odds
There is no category in Singapore Food Authority (SFA) reports that outlines the contributions of community gardens to food availability in Singapore.

Locally produced vegetables are mostly from private companies/brands, as indicated by the website of NTUC Fairprice, Singapore’s largest retailer.

We argue this is plausible because published guidelines in the SFA’s “industry guide” for selling products are currently tailored to commercial farms.

Individuals setting up their own commercial farms go through a long series of steps, which take up to 12 weeks to accomplish, including coordination with up to 11 government agencies in Singapore.

Read the complete article here.