It spent $ 1.5 million to build S’pore’s first high-tech crab farm – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

We are a country that is quite obsessed with food, so much so that some of us become full of our identity. In the wake of the 2020 warehouse craze, food security is far from reasonable and reasonable. Singapore imports 90 percent of our food.

However, the country is slowly trying to reduce its dependence on imports and has determined a 30 to 30 The plan is to produce 30% of our food by 2030.

Many players have thrown their hats in the ring and this is one of them Singapore Crab. It is the only high-tech live crab farm in Singapore. The first farm was started in 2018 in Sungei Tengah to supply the freshest surviving carrion on the whole island in the most sustainable and responsible way possible.

How the Singapore Crab was born

In recent years, investment has increased in urban agriculture and the technological agricultural space, which explains why urban farms have been mushroom-growing throughout the island.

Urban farms are attractive: less space, more technology compared to traditional farms and shorter growth times.

However, very little is said about our local aquaculture. This includes Desmond Chow, founder and CEO of Singapore Crawfish.

A huge success in its own right, Desmond graduated with a degree in Marketing from Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from University College Dublin and Manchester Business School, respectively.

In addition, he is a skilled marketer by training and a skilled businessman, government envoy, and business professor. If so, now we can also add crab to that list.

With so much praise and skill, it is unquestionable how he got into the crab industry. After all, it’s a complete 180-degree change from his skill.

Its slaughter was quite ecological in crab farming. As part of a research project with his students, Desmond studied a variety of plants, livestock, and shellfish, and found them to be one of the most profitable livestock for raising crabs.

These hardy little creatures in the swamp are relatively easy to grow, so Desmond thought it was something to invest in crabs.

A crustacean that verifies all boxes, crab is preferred given its high production rate, very low mortality and high international demand.

Desmond spent five years learning and understanding everything he could about crab – from his life cycle to his life habits – and invested $ 1.5 million to build his crab business from scratch.

As mentioned earlier, Desmond is a real hit. Not only did he delve deeper into the life of the excursion, but he also worked to revolutionize the entire crab industry.

Today, Desmond is also in the process of patenting its technology for a modular automated hatchery, which can reproduce crabs in a sustainable way.

Its automated hatchery can guarantee maximum productivity, high efficiency, consistent commercial production rates and a low mortality rate for crab breeding.

Land shortages, labor costs and prejudices against local products

Unlike local farms that can grow vegetables vertically to save space, aquaculture still needs a large area for production. Therefore, it makes sense that one of the obstacles to the implementation of Singapore Crawfish is the scarcity of land, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“The government often offers land only to established companies, and there is really little support in the market for SMEs and small players,” Desmond laments.

In addition, there is a high cost of rent and labor. “Imagine that Singapore’s crops are growing but you have to pay almost 80-90 per cent of your profits to 80 and 90 per cent of wages and labor taxes,” he added.

Given the size of Singapore, Singapore Crawfish could not afford the luxury of space as much as the surrounding countries. Despite these limitations, Desmond and his team have found ways to work, such as using technology solutions and constantly creating and prototyping new ideas.

At Singapore Crawfish, we are researchers at heart, looking for the best methods and technologies to help our crabs grow in a scalable and sustainable way. We have collaborated internationally with a variety of scientists and spent three years researching and testing our techniques and technologies.

Now, we are proud of our unique techniques and our nine core technologies, which have achieved three amazing results: increasing the weight of our crabs by 80 to 100 percent, increasing and reducing the number of eggs by 150 to 200 percent. mortality rates (falling below 15 per cent).

– Desmond Chow, Founder and CEO of Singapore Crawfish

In addition to government regulations and land restrictions, Singapore’s Crawfish and many other local farms must overcome prejudices about domestic produce and livestock.

Although home-grown food is believed to be healthier, it is believed to be more expensive because it is largely believed that it is impossible to grow Singapore food.

In view of all these obstacles, Desmond believes that farmers need to be intentional with their crops in order for Singapore agriculture to succeed in order to succeed.

“Young farmers like to choose ‘elegant’ fish or plants to grow; those with a high level of difficulty or that require a long time to harvest are basically left at risk of death,” Desmond said.

“If these young farmers choose low-value crops without considering labor costs, they are doomed to fail before they can start their business.”

Singapore Crawfish is planning to make a franchise

As we now know, Demond is not about to rest on his laurels. Although you can now get your crabs there, she wants to set up an open shop at Shenton House to sell her crabs in a variety of flavors.

Not only that, Singapore Crawfish hopes to use this channel to share what they are doing about Singapore Crawfish and what they are doing through their work and proprietary technology.

Desmond also plans to franchise his farms around the world and educate as many farmers as possible about crab farming, which is a healthy, high-quality source of protein.

While we are currently working with farms and governments in Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, we hope to franchise our business model abroad in countries like China and the Philippines. This will help us enter local markets and continue to work with local farmers and governments to make crab farming available to the public.

– Desmond Chow, Founder and CEO of Singapore Crawfish

The work never stops for Desmond and the Singapore Crawfish. Although most of our local high-tech farms are in the early stages, it is promising and we are now much closer to the 30-30 targets.

Featured Image Credit: Singapore Crawfish