More than 80 proposals were submitted by academia, research institutes and companies, with some having international partners as collaborators from Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. The successful projects span key research areas of genetics, disease and health management, systems and conditions optimisation, as well as nutrition and are all seen as having potential to support Singapore’s 30 by 30 goal – by which the country aims to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030.
Announcing the funding this week, Lim Kok Thai, CEO of the SFA said: “With challenges that impact global food security such as climate change, rising population and decreasing land for agricultural use, R&D holds the key to the future of food. The awarded proposals have shown both innovation and practicality for application and I have every confidence that the outcomes of their research will bring us closer towards a more resilient, sustainable and vibrant agri-tech sector in Singapore.”
The eight successful aquaculture applicants are:
- Achieving a sustainable aquaculture environment by specialized microbes – which is being undertaken by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and E and ST Environmental.
- Combinatorial Supplementation of Fish Feeds through Encapsulation for Enhanced Growth Rates in Aquaculture – which is being undertaken by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Tropical Futures Institute - James Cook University Singapore – and Opal Resources
- Developing Genetic Resources for Red Snapper, an Important Marine Food Fish for Singapore –Republic Polytechnic (RP), Tropical Futures Institute - James Cook University Singapore, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT), Blue Ocean Harvest and the Aquaculture Centre for Excellence (ACE)
- Development of innovative strategies for disease management in aquaculture to increase production and ensure food safety - which is being undertaken by A*STAR - Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP).
- Multipronged approach toward vaccine development against scale drop disease virus (SDDV) in Asian Seabass – which is being undertaken by A*STAR and Uvaxx.
- Optimizing Feeds for Singaporean Red Snapper Aquaculture - which is being undertaken by the Tropical Futures Institute - James Cook University Singapore, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT).
- Oral and Immersion Vaccines against Viruses in Asian Seabass - which is being undertaken by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL).
- Supercharging barramundi production through advanced selective breeding for improved disease resistance, growth and fillet traits - which is being undertaken by Tropical Futures Institute - James Cook University Singapore, Wageningen University, Barramundi Asia and Uvaxx.
