Agriculture in Singapore is a small industry, composing about 0.5% of the total GDP, within the city-state of Singapore.
Singapore's reliance on imports for about 90% of its food underscores the paramount importance of food security. To address this, Singapore has set a goal to produce 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. [1]
Agriculture in Singapore became heavily reduced as early as 1987. In that year, there were officially 2,075 farms in the country, covering an area of 2,037 hectares (5,030 acres), an average of less than 1 hectare (2.5 acres) per farm. [2]
Before modernised development, Orchard Road was a stretch of agricultural orchards. As with many other areas, the farms there soon began to disappear, and Singapore became more reliant on overseas imports. [2] One major issue in 1984 was the health concerns with pig farms in Singapore, concerning the pollution of the environment. [2]
Fruits produced in Singapore include durians, rambutans, and mangosteens, [3] while edible fungus produced in the country include mushrooms. [2] There are also farms in the country responsible for the production of eggs, vegetables, poultry, [4] and pork. [2]
Flowers grown in Singapore are exported to other parts of the world, [3] namely Japan, the United States, Australia, and territories in Western Europe. [2] Such flowers include orchids. [3] There are 153 orchid farms in Singapore. [2] Plants are mostly cultivated in Singapore for decorative purposes. [2]
Fish grown in Singapore are mostly kept as aquarium fish, [3] though some fish farms rear fish as food items. [4] Qian Hu Corporation Limited is a major fishery in Singapore, farming, exporting, and importing some thousand fish species. [5] On 5 June 2020, the Singapore Food Agency announced that domestic Singapore consumers will eventually be able to buy wholesale seafood at a single location at some time in the coming years, with Jurong Fishery Port and Senoko Fishery Port being consolidated by 2023. [6]
Singapore produces around 22,458 tonnes of vegetables while its population consumes 524,462 tonnes of them in 2016. [7] [8] Farming takes place mostly in the countryside region of Singapore, where the farms are located. [3] About 113.9 hectares of land are allocated for vegetable farming as of 2014. [9] Agriculture in the country is responsible for less than 0.5 percent of the country gross domestic product (GDP), as of 2010. [4]
The agricultural production in Singapore is not enough to deliver to the needs of the country's people, and as such, about 90 percent of the country's food comes from overseas imports, making food security an important issue. [4] In March 2019, the government of Singapore set the "30 by 30" goal which aims to become 30% self-sufficient in food production by the year 2030. It aims to do this through high-tech vegetable farms (i.e. multi-storey hydroponics farms), and through aquaculture farms. By using multi-storey hydroponics farms, land productivity can be increased and energy and water resource use can be maximised. [10] [11]
Singapore was ranked 1st on the Global Food Security Index in 2019. [12]
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerabilities to Singapore's food supply. On 6 April 2020, MP for Jurong GRC Mr. Ang Wei Neng suggested in parliament that the country should encourage urban farming. [13]
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) was the authoritative body in charge of the oversight of agriculture in Singapore. [14] Agricultural imports are habitually reviewed for safety and health, [15] especially during crises such as bird flu outbreaks in other parts of the world. [16] The AVA was absorbed into the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).[ citation needed ] Genetically modified organisms and synthetic biology products both fall under the GMO regulations on biosafety, and the Biological Agents and Toxins Act. For further review see Schiemann et al 2017. [17]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to agriculture:
The statutory boards of the Government of Singapore are autonomous organisations that have been tasked to perform an operational function by legal statutes passed as Acts in the Parliament of Singapore. The statutes define the purpose, rights and powers of each authority. These organisations would usually subsequently report to one specific ministry. This list includes both current and new statutory boards formed.
Agriculture and aquaculture in Hong Kong are considered sunset industries. Most agricultural produce is directly imported from the neighbouring mainland China. In 2006 the industry accounts for less than 0.3% of the labour sector. Geographically Hong Kong consists largely of steep, unproductive hillside. The local aquaculture industry is also facing challenges from competition with imported aquatic food products and concern of fish and seafood safety.
Singapore has taken a series of measures against avian influenza and the potential threat of a pandemic.
A food safety agency or food administration or Food Safety Authority is a government agency responsible for ensuring the safety, quality, and proper labeling of food products within a country or region. These agencies play a crucial role in protecting public health by establishing and enforcing regulations and standards to ensure that food produced, imported, processed, distributed, and sold is safe for consumption.
Canada is one of the largest agricultural producers and exporters in the world. As with other developed nations, the proportion of the population agriculture employed and agricultural GDP as a percentage of the national GDP fell dramatically over the 20th century, but it remains an important element of the Canadian economy. A wide range of agriculture is practised in Canada, from sprawling wheat fields of the prairies to summer produce of the Okanagan valley. In the federal government, overview of Canadian agriculture is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The history of agriculture in India dates back to the Neolithic period. India ranks second worldwide in farm outputs. As per the Indian economic survey 2020 -21, agriculture employed more than 50% of the Indian workforce and contributed 20.2% to the country's GDP.
Class S: Agriculture is a classification used by the Library of Congress Classification system. This page outlines the subclasses of Class S.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) was a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development that regulated food safety, safeguarded animal and plant health, and facilitated the agri-food and fisheries trade sectors. AVA was disbanded on 1 April 2019, with duties being transferred to other statutory boards, Singapore Food Agency, National Environment Agency, Health Sciences Authority, and National Parks Board.
Agriculture is the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, making up 14.2 percent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2017 and employing about 42.7 percent of the workforce. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development, food security, and other economic and social forces. A plurality of Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labour-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions. These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilisers, as well as the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks.
Agriculture in the Philippines is a major sector of the economy, ranking third among the sectors in 2022 behind only Services and Industry. Its outputs include staples like rice and corn, but also export crops such as coffee, cavendish banana, pineapple and pineapple products, coconut, sugar, and mango. The sector continues to face challenges, however, due to the pressures of a growing population. As of 2022, the sector employs 24% of the Filipino workforce and it accounted for 8.9% of the total GDP.
Agriculture is one of the main industries in Taiwan. It contributes to the food security, rural development and conservation of Taiwan. Around 24% of Taiwan's land is used for farming.
Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) is a public research university in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the only specialised veterinary university in Bangladesh. It is located at Khulshi, Chittagong. Generally, the public universities in Bangladesh offer degrees on department. Like every other agricultural university in Bangladesh, CVASU offers degrees on faculty.
Benin is predominantly a rural society, and agriculture in Benin supports more than 70% of the population. Agriculture contributes around 35% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 80% of export income. While the Government of Benin (GOB) aims to diversify its agricultural production, Benin remains underdeveloped, and its economy is underpinned by subsistence agriculture. Approximately 93% of total agricultural production goes into food production. The proportion of the population living in poverty is about 35.2%, with more rural households in poverty (38.4%) than urban households (29.8%). 36% of households depend solely upon agricultural (crop) production for income, and another 30% depend on crop production, livestock, or fishing for income.
Agriculture in the United Arab Emirates, including fishing, was a minor part of the UAE economy in the early 1990s, contributing less than 4 percent of GDP. Since the formation of the UAE, the availability of capital and the demand for fresh produce have encouraged agricultural development. The main farming areas are Digdaga in Ras al-Khaimah. Falaj al Mualla in Umm al Qawain, Wadi adh Dhayd in Sharjah, Al Awir in Dubai and the coastal area of Al Fujairah. Total cultivable land was around 70,000 hectares as of the early 1990s.
Tonga's economy is characterized by a large nonmonetary sector and a heavy dependence on remittances from the half of the country's population that lives abroad, chiefly in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Much of the monetary sector of the economy is dominated, if not owned, by the royal family and nobles. This is particularly true of the telecommunications and satellite services. Much of small business, particularly retailing on Tongatapu, is now dominated by recent Chinese immigrants who arrived under a cash-for-passports scheme that ended in 1998.
Agriculture in Sweden differs by region. This is due to different soils and different climate zones, with many parts of the country being more suitable to forestry. It makes more economic sense to dedicate land to forestry than agriculture in the northern and mountainous parts of the country.
The Eat Frozen Pork campaign in Singapore was initiated by the Singapore government in late 1984 as a means of encouraging Singaporeans to partake in frozen, as opposed to fresh, pig meat. Targeted at predominantly Singaporean Chinese, the campaign tied in with the shutting down or relocation of all pig farms in the country. The government's initiative was not considerably successful, with mixed reaction from the people. In 2008 it was brought back and subsumed under the Frozen Meat Public Education Programme.
Agriculture in the Republic of the Congo is mostly at the subsistence level. Self-sufficiency in food production is yet to be achieved. Cassava (manioc) is the basic food crop everywhere in the country except in the southern region, where bananas and plantains are prevalent. Among the cash crops, the most important are sugarcane and tobacco, though palm kernels, cacao, and coffee are also cultivated to some extent. The main consumption crops are bananas, manioc, peanuts, plantains, sugarcane, and yams. Subsistence agriculture is the country's most significant employer, and it is one of the three most important economic sectors. With the government's efforts since 1987, agricultural production has increased due to "abolishing state marketing boards, freeing prices, launching new agricultural credit institutions and closing down most state farms". The Niari Valley in the south is a notable agricultural area.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment that oversees food safety and security in Singapore.