These days, many Singaporeans know what “30 by 30” refers to – the goal for Singapore to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030. What fewer people realise is just how audacious the fine print is – to touch this target while keeping farm use to 1 per cent of Singapore’s land.

The Singapore Food Agency is the key government agency driving this initiative. Is 30 by 30 an achievable target? Personally, I have my doubts. Indeed, when I first heard this objective years ago, I was both taken by the catchiness of the slogan and sceptical about how achievable it is for a country that imports 90 per cent of its food, to attain even that level of food sufficiency.