Has Singapore bitten off more than it can chew with its ‘30 by 30’ goal?

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Hello reader,

I’m a sucker for a good sports documentary, so the ESPN series 30 for 30 is like catnip for me.

It has a lot going for it, from compelling characters to tight storytelling and slick editing. However, the name, while catchy, is starting to look a little redundant by now.

Launched in 2009, 30 for 30 celebrated the 30th anniversary of ESPN with, you guessed it, 30 documentaries. However, the series is still going now with the same title, probably because “More than 30 for 44 and counting” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

I doubt the Singaporean policymakers who named the 30 by 30 food plan did it in homage to the documentary series. But the name sure is catchy.

The plan details how Singapore aims to locally produce 30% of its nutritional needs by the year 2030. But without some technological leaps, the target may be out of reach. My colleague Melissa has the full story on why achieving that goal might be a stretch for the city-state.

Today we look at:

• Singapore’s 30 by 30 food security goal
• Quantum computing startup Entropica Labs’ US$4.7 million fundraise
• Other newsy highlights such as Indonesian EV startup Volta securing fresh funding

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Food for thought

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Singapore’s small landmass and the paucity of land available for farming mean the city-state imports the vast majority of its food.

While some progress has been made since the 30 by 30 goal was announced in 2019, a number of agritech investors and players doubt it’s one Singapore can reach.

• Star of the show: Alternative protein has become the bell cow for the 30 by 30 goal, but scaling challenges mean it’s a ways off from replacing traditional agriculture. While Singapore has courted cell-based protein startups into the city-state, the high cost of alternative meat means that many prefer traditional farm-based products. Plant-based protein products are relatively cheaper to produce, but they also face customer perception issues.
• On the rise: Buoyed by government grants to spur local food production, areas like vertical farming are also showing promise. However, such farms produce a limited variety of crops and lean toward leafy greens and micro herbs, which “play around the edges of total calorie needs,” according to Jonathon Quigley, partner at New South Wales-based agritech VC firm Cultiv8.
• Reach for the stars, land on a cloud: Even if the 30 by 30 goal isn’t met, pushing toward it may help alleviate Singapore’s food security problem. Already, 30% of eggs consumed in the city-state come from local farms. That said, Quigley believes that Singapore might be better served by positioning itself as a regional transshipment hub for produce, given its high connectivity to trading partners.

A quantum of funding

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