Post on 11-Jan-2023
Eating in the ‘Little Red Dot’: Singapore Searches for Food Security in the Face of Land ScarcityDr. J. Jackson Ewing
Global Innoversity Live Webcast Series14 June 2013
Outline
I. Singapore’s unique food challenges
II.Supply chains and import dependency
III.Southeast Asia’s dynamic food
systems
IV.Opportunity amidst vulnerability
Dynamism in Asian Food SystemsDynamism in Asian Food Systems
Availability– Small holders vs estate
farming– Investment and land
acquisition– Land-use choices– Demand and yield
improvementsPhysical Access
– Impacts of pervasive hunger – Wet markets vs corporate
grocers– Shifting distribution
chains
Economic Access– Income conundrum of farming
and food access– Rural-urban divides– Protectionism, trade
agreements, self-sufficiency
Utilisation– Storage, waste and
infrastructure– Food safety regulation and
enforcement– Preferences– GM and organic
• Population increases leave fewer ha/per person
• Fewer farmers, more choice• Contemporary land competition• Environmental stress
Water Deforestation Topsoil Fisheries Climate Change
Production ChallengesProduction Challenges
Climate ChallengesClimate Challenges
• Knowledge of potential climate change effects has improved markedly
• IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4): Dry areas getting dryer, wet areas wetter Reduced runoff and water availability Shifting precipitation patterns/storms Salinity
• Uncertainty and spatial scales
Rural to Urban TransitionsRural to Urban Transitions
• Unprecedented speed and scope• The pull of cities• The push of rural poverty• Impacts on food value chains• Wealth, choice and vulnerability in urban zones
• Urban demand and rural land use changes• Labour and commodity shifts