50 S'pore residents to brainstorm on ways to increase support for local produce in 3-month Citizens' Workshop

Support local.

Zhangxin Zheng | July 24, 2020, 05:38 PM

The recent Covid-19 situation has brought greater attention to the issue of Singapore's food security.

In response, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has increased its efforts to accelerate local food production.

Through the "30 X 30" Express grant, S$30 million has been set aside to increase local production of eggs, leafy vegetables and fish over the next six to 24 months through the use of technology.

Efforts to increase demand in local produce

However, the increase of local supply has to come with an increase in demand for local produce.

Singaporeans have to support local farmers for them to sustain and grow their businesses.

Fortunately, most Singaporeans are supportive of the growing local agri-food industry.

A survey commissioned by the SFA and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) shared that 94 per cent of its respondents said that they would be willing to buy more local produce.

However, only 65 per cent can easily identify food grown in Singapore when they do their grocery shopping.

To help Singaporeans identify locally grown produce easier, SFA has come up with a "SG Fresh Produce" logo. The agency has also been organising farmers' markets islandwide with the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Foundation.

To date, eight SG farmers' markets have been organised at Singapore Turf Club, Bishan Community Club and Our Tampines Hub, for example.

Citizens' workshop with 50 members of the public

On top of these efforts to connect residents in Singapore to local produce, SFA and MEWR have reached out to members of the public to come up with more ideas together via a Citizens' Workshop.

400 people responded to the call to be participants in the Citizens' Workshop, as part of the SG Together movement.

Among these, about 50 people have been selected to participate in the six sessions of workshop that will span three months.

The first session of this Citizens' Workshop concluded last Saturday (July 18) and it was attended by Senior Minister of State in MEWR, Amy Khor.

These 50 participants come from various backgrounds. They are of different ages, ethnicities, professions, and have knowledge of local produce.

The group also includes volunteers who help out at local farms as well as food business owners.

Together, they will be brainstorming ideas with subject matter experts on food sustainability and will come up with proposals by October 24.

Top image via Citiponics/Facebook