Singapore and FAO have signed an agreement to improve food and nutrition security in Southeast Asia, with a special focus on food safety and fisheries.
This is the first agreement Singapore signed since it joined the Organization in 2013.
Improving the health and safety of food, including street foods, and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are key areas in a larger collaboration that will also look at cutting food losses and waste, making trade and agriculture more sustainable, and building resilience to animal and plant-related threats.
“During my first official visit to Singapore last year, I was impressed by its innovative efforts to ensure food security and food safety,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
“I see the value of sharing its good practices with other countries.”
The agreement foresees knowledge exchanges, technical consultations and other forms of cooperation, including the deployment of experts across the region, as well as trainings, study visits, joint seminars and workshops.
In addition to exchanging and deploying professionals in the field, FAO and Singapore will also work together on developing food policies, creating agricultural research programs and training material, and disseminating new technologies.
Opportunities
Singapore, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has developed from a small port city into a major commercial and financial hub.
Since joining the Organization in 2013, the Government of Singapore has been engaging in dialogues with FAO regarding opportunities to advance food security and food safety in the country and across Southeast Asia, resulting in this first cooperation agreement.
The country’s strong research and development capabilities offer many opportunities for feeding into FAO’s work and exchanging knowledge with other countries.
Singapore is also a front runner in urban agriculture innovation, with vertical farms and rooftop gardens contributing to food security and quality of life in the city-state of more than five million people.
