1 Ms Jennie Moss, Managing Director, Rethink Events,

 

2 Distinguished guests,

 

3 Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Introduction

 

4 Welcome to Marina Bay Sands, and for many of our guests from all over the world, welcome to Singapore. October and November are a busy period; we have had many different events – the Singapore International Cyber Week, Singapore International Energy Week, and now Singapore International Agri-Food Week.

 

5 We have done all these things here at Marina Bay Sands and elsewhere in Singapore, and that is exactly what we’re trying to do – to bring the best minds, the best talents from industry, academia, start-ups, and big companies together – to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. And how do we do that? Through innovation.

 

6 It is good to be back here at the Asia Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit. It is my fourth time at the summit. The Summit was launched in 2018 to bring together industry leaders from around the world to identify novel way to strengthen the capacity, security, and resilience in Asia’s agri-food system.

 

a. In its early years, the Summit’s focus revolved around topics such as food safety, nutrition, hidden hunger, and nascent developments in cellular agriculture technologies.

 

b. Now in its sixth year, the Summit has evolved significantly. Many of these technologies and innovations have become a reality. For example, our food safety – Singapore is now, together with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the world’s trailblazer in regulatory and approvals of innovative and sustainable proteins.

 

c. This year’s summit will cover topics, such as the role of artificial intelligence in agri-food tech. But more importantly, how do you build a strong, robust, and sustainable ecosystem in this space.

 

7 In my address today, I wish to focus on two ways in which we can strengthen food resilience. First, using innovation for food security, and second, the safe and sustainable food consumption.

 

Leveraging innovation for food security

 

8 It is critical that Singapore continues to innovate for food security, using digitialisation and R&D, to overcome our natural constraints. We are a small country with limited arable land, and we import over 90% of our food. This makes us especially vulnerable to supply shocks globally, and disruptions. In fact, our goal is to produce 30 percent of our nutritional needs by 2030.

 

  a. For example, to produce more eggs, Seng Choon Farm, with the support of Enterprise Singapore, adopted artificial intelligence (AI)-integrated machinery to help them inspect their eggs post-harvest.

 

b. A*STAR is also supporting food tech start-ups. For example, A*STAR's Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) has set up two joint labs with industry partners – Scaleup Bio and Nurasa’s Food Tech Innovation Centre (FITC) to help our alternative protein start-ups minimise upfront capital costs needed to scale-up their products, and to speed up their product time to market. So, if you’re a food producer amongst us, or food-tech start-up, Singapore is the place to be, because we have no choice; we have to innovate.

 

9 But Singapore is not just focussed on innovating. We are also well placed to be Asia’s hub for agri-food tech and innovation.

 

a. First, Singapore is at the heart of Asia, and Asia is urbanising faster than any other region in the world. By 2030, 65 per cent of the world’s middle-class population will reside in Asia. This group of consumers will want to eat more high-value animal protein, moving from carbohydrate-heavy diets to more protein-based diets as their purchasing power grows.

 

b. Globally, we are seeing alternative proteins being increasingly accepted and developed. In Asia alone, the meat substitute market, which includes mock meat and plant-based meat, is valued at US$4.3 billion in 2023[1].

 

c. Second, Singapore’s multicultural and multiracial roots, and our connectivity to ASEAN and the world, means that we are an ideal spot for alternative protein companies to pilot their food innovations in this vast growing Asia Pacific market. Some of the key R&D focus areas we have identified for the sector include fermentation-based proteins, cultured meat, fish and seeds genetics and breeding and stratified nutrition.

 

10 So innovating for food security is not just critical for us – it is something that we are tyring to be good at, and we are committed to investing our time and resources in.

 

Safe and sustainable food consumption

 

11 As we encourage new methods of producing food, we also want to ensure that the food we produce and consume are of the highest safety standards. That is why we have created a clear efficient and pro-business regulatory environment to allow for safe and novel foods to be launched here in Singapore.

 

  a. SFA has played a key role. They have put in place a novel food regulatory framework which requires companies intending to sell novel foods to first conduct and submit safety assessments for a thorough review.

 

b. To ensure SFA’s novel food reviews are comprehensive and up to date with current food innovations, SFA has established a Novel Food Safety Expert Working Group.

 

c. SFA also encourages international conversations on food safety and the assessment of novel foods. These include annual roundtables on novel food regulations involving industry, researchers, and food safety regulators from around the world. But it is not just these stakeholders; we consumers can also play a key part.

 

12 Consumers like ourselves contribute to food resilience. How? By making more conscious consumption choices.

 

  a. Our choices can encourage food producers to adopt more green and sustainable food production practices to cater to a growing demand. By doing so, we can turn towards food options that promote greater farm to fork traceability.

 

b. Next, on sustainability increasingly becoming top-of-mind for travellers – we are also now helping visitors who come to Singapore, get access to more eco-conscious choices during their stay here.

 

i. For example, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and DBS – a local bank – recently launched a joint campaign to raise awareness on businesses that have embraced sustainability and adopt innovative ways to go green with our retail and dining choices. As part of this campaign, if you are a DBS card user, you can, across Singapore, Indonesia, India, and Hong Kong, enjoy exclusive deals with sustainable merchants in Singapore. Through supporting such merchants, we send a message that sustainability matters, and encourage other merchants to also go green.

 

Conclusion

 

13 In conclusion, food security and resilience are key – not just for small countries like Singapore. There are also lessons to be learnt on how to become more innovative and green, and there is no better place to discuss, develop and deploy new novel and fresh ideas, than here at the Agri-Food Innovation Summit, and here in Singapore.

 

14 I wish you all a successful conference ahead. Thank you.