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The rice plants are arranged in rows of pots, some yellow stained with fungal infections, others fading after days without water.
Before the Sunday Times entered the greenhouse, rice researcher Rapee Heebkaew handed over white lab coats and plastic bags to put on top of the shoes. "Wear this," she said. "Everything will be fine, but we must protect the rice plants against you."
It's the Singaporean greenhouse of Germany's pharmaceutical and life science giant, Bayer, where Heebkaew is developing ways to make rice more resistant to rice fungi, a devastating infection that destroys as much rice every year. which could have fed millions of people. with climate change.
Since Bayer began operating its seed laboratory in 2008, it has tested 12 varieties of rice that are relatively resistant to the negative effects of climate change.
Although Singapore imports more than 90% of its food, it is part of its efforts to help a warming world.
Even local groups are working on the resilience of rice.
Temasek Life Sciences Lab announced the launch of Temasek Rice two years ago, the first and only rice variety created and sold here. It is specially formulated against floods, drought and pests – all the effects of climate change will worsen. The main inventor of Temasek Rice, Yin Zhongchao, said the grains were sweeter and at least as tasty as other varieties of brown rice.
Temasek rice was one of seven varieties of rice sent by the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory to the "Doomsday Vault", a Norwegian seed box on a distant Arctic island whose sole purpose is to preserve the samples of the world's cultures. global catastrophe.
Dr. Yin, the lab's lead investigator, told the Sunday Times that 40 tons of Temasek rice had been produced and that his team was introducing genes that would allow the rice to resist an insect called brown leafhopper.
"This insect can be brought in by tropical storms in subtropical areas like China," he said, adding that the pest could spread as climate change makes storms more intense.
The team plans to make this rice more affordable for farmers to earn more while fighting climate change.
All this points to the paradox: according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore is the safest country in terms of food security in the world, which means that its citizens have access to healthy and nutritious food at affordable prices in the short and long term. long term. The nation remains extremely vulnerable to the impact of climate change on other food producing places in the region and beyond. She uses the location as a hub and her talent to join the fight against global warming.
For example, Amit Trikha, head of rice crop management at Bayer's Crop Science Division, said that even though most of the company's activities took place outside of Singapore, the city was a center. important research. "Singapore is a politically neutral country enjoying very high protection of intellectual property and a highly skilled workforce."
Its location also allows Bayer to use it as a regional center for scientific documentation from the Philippines, Vietnam, or Indonesia.
Dr. Sudhir Yadav of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Singapore also provided important lessons for rice-producing countries in how the public and private sectors can work together.
"Water management requires coordination between different sectors," said Dr. Yadav, adding that it was not helpful for urban, industrial, and agricultural sectors to manage water independently one another.
"For example, the use of agricultural water upstream of an irrigation system not only affects the amount of water available downstream, but also its quality.A city like Bangkok may need to devote significant resources to water treatment if sustainable practices in water and crop management are not implemented. "
Dr. Yadav said, "Singapore has done a lot of research to develop very effective water management practices, such as the use of precipitation and freshwater, desalination and recycling." Cooperation between the private and public sectors has contributed to its success, he said.
Dr. Yadav spoke at the Sunday Times last month at the world's largest rice science conference in Marina Bay Sands.
On the opening day, Irri CEO Matthew Morell said, "If agriculture plays a small role in Singapore's economy, the country is a hub for logistics and shipping. for the rice trade.
He said discussions at the International Rice Congress could pave the way for policies and partnerships to move the sector forward globally.
A spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said that climate change was one of the many interrelated threats to Singapore's food supply, including population growth, poverty, and poor health. 39, increasing urbanization and scarcity of resources.
"These trends are intensifying and their interactions are reinforcing food security issues more than ever."
Singapore has tried to stimulate local food production in a high-tech controlled environment.
"The result is an assured and consistent outcome, as well as a predictable way to cope with the effects of climate change and extreme weather," the spokesman said.
AVA commissioned a study on the impact of climate change on local farms and helped the local fish farming SAT raise fish in basins to mitigate the fallout of events such as the proliferation of plankton.
Mr. Melvin Chow, Director of the AVA Food Resilience Group, said, "We recognize that understanding and building resilience to the effects of climate change is an ongoing effort.
"AVA will continue to review existing measures and develop new ones to help Singapore prepare for the long-term impacts of climate change on our food supply."
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