To grow, some local farms push ahead with international collaborations

Mr Webster Tham, co-founder of local agri-technology company Tomato Town, is looking to harvest Japanese cherry tomatoes and heirloom varieties of tomatoes through a collaboration with a Japanese company that makes tomato-based foods and vegetable juices.

By leveraging the Japanese firm's farming expertise and using a special variety of its heat-resilient seeds, Mr Tham is hoping to grow tomatoes that can withstand Singapore's hot and humid weather.

"There's untapped potential there in that consumer tastes are converging towards these higherend types of tomatoes, which are not readily available in the market and are mostly imported from Europe or Australia," he said, While the future is uncertain for local farms amid growing cost pressures and the lack of robust local demand, they are seeing opportunities to foster international collaboration, and seed the way forward.

The upcoming Lim Chu Kang masterplan, for instance, is designed to transform the farming district into a high-tech farming industry, with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) looking to host bestin-class international players that are willing to anchor their operations in Singapore.

Tomato Town engaged a Japanese partner in March, Mr Tham said, because much of its efforts in the past to grow tomatoes had been "very trial and error".

"We've been largely growing lettuce and kale, before dabbling in cherry tomatoes, which we've only been able to farm during the cooler months at the end of the year," he said.

"So it's good to have seasoned hands to guide us along the way." As tomato plants produce many leaves but far fewer fruit, the vine has to be regularly pruned to maximise its harvest, which also ensures that the fruits are larger and juicier.

But it takes a pair of expert hands to do this without killing the plant.

Mr Tham declined to name the Japanese partner due to commercial sensitivities. Tomato Town will sign a formal agreement with its counterpart in November.

Tomato Town's seasonal crop of cherry tomatoes is supplied to Italian restaurants here.

But to take its tomatoes to supermarket shelves, the company would have to deliver a more consistent supply all year round, said Mr Tham.