SINGAPORE: Cheaper, better-quality produce at double the yield – this is what Singapore’s newest mushroom farm is looking to achieve with the help of automation and artificial intelligence.
Finc runs four facilities in China that are powered by big data, AI and automation, producing nearly 260 tonnes of mushrooms – or the weight of 65 elephants – daily.Dr Bao said that Finc will build the “most advanced automation system” for mushroom production in Singapore and leverage on AI to improve farming efficiency.
Finc is also looking for more land to expand beyond growing white button mushrooms, including other types of crops like leafy vegetables. Professor William Chen from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology noted that while mushrooms are not vegetables but fungi, they contain fibre, have “all these nutrition profiles that fulfil our needs”, and are much easier to grow.
Prof Chen, who is also director of the university’s food science and technology programme, was part of a team of researchers who cultivated a new type of alternative protein made from fungi and grown on food waste.Related:There are around seven mushroom farms in Singapore, with some of the newer local players only entering the scene a few years ago, according to the Singapore Food Agency.
Mr Ong is now looking for a bigger plot of land in the next two years to scale up and bring costs down.