June 7, 2022

Tools by Singapore-MIT alliance to improve urban agriculture, with potential benefit for producing animal feed

Scientists from a research alliance between Singapore and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented tools to optimise urban agriculture production.

This will strengthen crop yields in Singapore and abroad, as the world's food supply is rocked by climate change and supply chain disruptions.

Speaking to The Straits Times about the team's latest research, MIT chemical engineering professor Michael Strano said improving agriculture productivity will be crucial not just for vegetables but also for animal feed for poultry and other livestock.

Surging costs of imported feed brought about by the war between two of the world's major grain producers - Ukraine and Russia - amid a weakening ringgit have been blamed as a key contributor to the Malaysian government's ban on chicken exports from June 1 until domestic prices and production stabilise.

Since the war began, poultry farming costs have increased by about 70%.

In a May 27 presentation on the Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agriculture Precision (Distap) research group's latest creations, Prof Strano said analytical tools developed by the alliance will help monitor crops in real time and optimise growth.

This is expected to allow farmers to optimise production instantly, when previously it would take 30 days to see how various factors affect yields, he said.

Chemical fingerprinting of plants using portable devices made by MIT, for instance, allows researchers to instantly measure plant health by looking at factors detecting drought stress and nutrient deficiency without having to wait for days to notice such effects, Prof Strano said.

This means that farmers will not need to be devastated by the effects of bad weather on their crops before being able to do something about it.

Other inventions by the team include silk microneedles that can inject hormones to increase plant growth in a precise and non-invasive manner, Prof Strano  added.

- The Straits Times