ABSTRACT
Singapore’s first mushroom farm was the Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd incorporated on 1 April 1981. One of the legacies of this early era of mushroom farming in Singapore is the Mushroom Farm which specializes in supplying fresh organically-grown mushrooms in Singapore. One of the contemporary farm’s brand heritage is traceable back to 1980 when its biotech founder was driven to market the nutritional and medicinal value of locally-cultivated organic mushrooms by constructing Singapore's first mushroom farm. In 1991, Everbloom published a patent for mushroom cultivation in the US (United States Patent Number 4987698) that copyrighted a methodology of growing decomposed wood edible mushroom by mixing fungi spawn with a substrate made of hydrated and sterilized/pasteurized wood. In the 2000s and 2010s, some mid-career urban farmers began to appear as they pursued their passion in farming. The 2010s also saw Singaporean mushroom farms providing children’s educational programs, guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits for hobbyists. They also developed processed mushroom products like mushroom chips and soap for Singapore customers. From at least since 2016, the mushroom industry in Singapore began to offer organic products for the health-conscious. Some entrepreneurs started to nurse ambitions of food self-sufficiency and heightened health-consciousness. In 2019, the authorities allocated land for farming, provided grants and laws to encourage farming and, in April 2020, the government launched a S$30 million (about US$21 million) financing scheme to assist Singaporean farmers to increase output through technological investments (Feng, 2020). The education authorities complemented such efforts with mushroom-growing education. Ngee Ann Polytechnic Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy offers a short 3-day course module called “Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning).” Such courses are important given the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies like the application of IoT (Internet of Things) for monitoring & maintenance, pest and disease management, and the commercial operations in founding and managing a mushroom farm, its marketing opportunities and business strategies (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
Keywords: mushroom, Singapore, strategy, entrepreneur, shiitake
THE 1980S: GENESIS AND BIOTECH ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Singapore’s first mushroom farm was Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd incorporated on 1 April 1981 in Singapore with its registered office at The Mendel building (at 12 Science Park Drive #04-01 The Mendel Singapore 118225) with the major activity of growing mushroom and other crops for wholesale business (SGP Business, 2015). One of the legacies of this early era of mushroom farming in Singapore is the Mushroom Farm which specializes in supplying fresh organically-grown mushrooms in Singapore whose brand heritage is traceable back to 1980 when its biotech founder was driven to market the nutritional and medicinal value of locally-cultivated organic mushrooms by constructing Singapore's first mushroom farm (Oatberry.com, 2022). Since then, it has gone into mushroom-based food processing as well to provide finished food products to consumers (Oatberry.com, 2022).
THE 1990S: SCIENTIFIC RATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION.
In 1991, Everbloom published a patent for mushroom cultivation in the US (United States Patent Number 4987698) that copyrighted a methodology of growing decomposed wood edible mushroom by mixing fungi spawn with a substrate made of hydrated and sterilized/pasteurized wood (cut up to 3 mm) before exposing it to ideal conditions for growth that includes the use of thermal shock treatment (FPO, 2004). The patent (filed on 30 November 1988 and published on 29 January 1991) listed the holder/inventor as Tan Kok-kheng of Singapore and Shiitake mushrooms and white rot fungi as the main cultivars of this methodology which is characterized as conditioned cultivation rather than mushroom growth under reasonably wild conditions which is the conventional method (FPO, 2004). The humidity level of the environment is maintained above 90% until the cropping stage for the wood-decaying fungi as opposed to compost-growth fungi and this methodology can be applied for edible wood-rotting fungi including the abalone/oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus cystidiosus/P. abalonus), the Shiitake/Chinese black forest mushroom (Lentinus edodes) (FPO, 2004).
Using this methodology, the most challenging cultivar is the Shiitake mushrooms because it proliferates only on wood (further treated as lignin and cellulose) while other wood-rot fungi can be grown on cellulose bases like cotton or straws (FPO, 2004). This was the first farming method that did not require the conventional inoculated wooden blocks that are isolated for months for spawning/fruiting to occur, a process which can be time-consuming and yields random harvest results (FPO, 2004). The methodology also has the secret formula of adding nutrients to the damp wood substrate made from a carbon source and other ingredients like rice bran and water to promote growth before harvesting at an ideal stage when all the mushrooms are growing/fruiting in a particular area of the substrate for efficient cropping (FPO, 2004).
The methodology also covers the ideal temperatures for thermal shock treatment implemented on the growing mushrooms at approximately 28 °C, as any temperatures above 30 °C will destroy the Shiitake fungus (FPO, 2004). The mushrooms are maintained at this high temperature for approximately 1-7 days as a resting period before dropping the temperature to about 10 to 15 °C for typically 1-5 days and such extreme temperature differences induces efficient fungi fruiting (FPO, 2004). This patent thus represented the scientific and innovative historical phase of the mushroom industry in Singapore.
The value brought about by this patent can be demonstrated using a before and after scenario and perhaps summarized into three points. First, Everbloom Mushrooms Pte Ltd.’s Dr. K. K. Tan successful patent meant that he was able to have an ease of mind to work towards commercial sales with legal protection and the ease of mind that his creation and brainchild will be legally protected and enforced against industrial pilfering and it took him 25 years from the founding of the company to make it commercially viable (Mycofarm, undated). This is especially important given that, before the patent, the Shiitake mushroom itself which originated from China where it was successfully grown for above a thousand years (Mycofarm, undated) is not a unique organism or centered around an idiosyncratic cultivation method that enjoys natural copyrights.
Second, before patenting, Shiitake mushroom has long been an ingredient for medicinal purposes as it is rich in vitamins and minerals and have been extensively documented by the Chinese or yore as an “elixir of life” before they were also cultivated in Japan (where the namesake "Shiitake" originated) for the same purpose (Mycofarm, undated). Therefore, a starting point for patenting a unique cultivation method enables Dr. K. K. Tan (who holds the appointments of Chief Executive Officer-CEO and founder of the renamed MycoBiotech Inc. in 2006) to produce more downstream processed pharmaceutical products. It is known to enhance the immune system, aiding the body to capitalize on its natural qualities of resisting infections/diseases and optimize its anti-tumour qualities (an important discovery journey given that there is still competitive ongoing research in this area) (Mycofarm, undated).
Finally, natural Shiitake which grows in the wild on oak logs (Shii means ‘oak’ and take means ‘mushroom’ in Japanese language) are typically widely cultivated in the modern period in plastic-bag logs filled with wood substrates (Mycofarm, undated). After patenting, the thermal shock treatment process, wood preparation, humidity data, use of rice bran with well-kept proportionality information becomes the sole ownership of Everbloom (now Mycobiotech Inc.) and so the efficiency in adjusting/accelerating the shiitake mushroom’s natural incubation period of almost 100 days (Mycofarm, undated) can be protected as a trade secret.
THE 2000S-2010S: MATURITY AND DIVERSIFICATION INTO SERVICES.
In the 2000s/2010s, some mid-career urban farmers began to appear as they pursued their passion in farming. A good example is Senior Farm Manager of Kin Yan Agrotech See Jen Chuan, previously a shop owner retailing foodstuffs and herbal drinks, who found his passion in farming at a later stage of his career in 2014, particularly due to its nexus with nature (Singapore Food Agency, 2020). Kin Yan has progressed to become Singapore’s biggest wheatgrass and mushroom-growing facility (Singapore Food Agency, 2020). The 2010s also saw Singaporean mushroom farms like See’s providing children’s educational programs, guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits for hobbyists at his farm in the hope of having future generations of Singaporeans share their skills acquired from the farm visit and developing a newfound appreciation for nature (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
The same decade gave rise to farmers like Mycofarm (a specialist mushroom grower) developing processed mushroom products like mushroom chips and soap for Singapore customers in addition to operating daily guided excursions for S$4.50 (US$3.32) to S$6.00 (US$4.43) per entry per person to the Grow Rooms to observe oyster mushrooms and shiitake cultivation on logs in cold rooms, and the process of harvesting and packing (Tan, 2018). The gradual specialization of the Singapore mushroom industry in the 2010s is visible from the diversity of services now offered for stakeholders. For example, Jay Neo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Mushroom Kingdom farm in Singapore organizes culinary lessons and guided tours, collaborating intimately with science teachers from primary and secondary schools to build mushroom farms on their campuses (Ee and Chan, 2019).
From at least 2016, the mushroom industry in Singapore began to offer home-grown organic products for the health-conscious. Mushroom Kingdom founded by Philbert Khoo, Janson Chan and Jay Neo has been providing non-chemical and no-pesticide fungi, providing fresh portobello, grey oyster mushrooms and black fungus to local establishments like Hai Di Lao (a hotpot chain restaurant), Prive and Creative Eateries and even developed their own healthy shiitake Shroom Bites distributed through 7Eleven stores in Singapore (Ee and Chan, 2019).
This decade also saw the rise of mushroom enthusiasts eager to do some urban food gardening. Mushroom Kingdom, for example, retails the My Mushroom Garden cultivation kit (priced at S$17.90), for individuals keen to cultivate their own grey oyster mushrooms in an eco-friendly way using rice bran, limes, corn husks and 4 sessions of watering daily to generate the spores into a substantial mushroom bunch within 12 days and the hard work spent may also educate the consumers on the effort needed to grow mushrooms (Ee and Chan, 2019).
At this point of the Singapore mushroom industry’s historical development, some entrepreneurs were already nursing ambitions of food self-sufficiency and heightened health-consciousness. Business strategizing is very important in this business as it provides a marketing niche for mushroom entrepreneurs. Jay Neo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Mushroom Kingdom articulated: “Mushroom Kingdom wants Singapore to become self-sufficient in fresh food production. People should be able to have peace of mind when wanting to dine healthier, from having a sustainable, traceable source to a product that’s high in nutrition at an affordable price” (Ee and Chan, 2019).
While the ambitions for food self-sufficiency were internalized amongst these idealists, there were other Singaporean mushroom entrepreneurs who were already developing external wings at this particular juncture of mushroom-growing history in Singapore. For example, Leong William, who is a Mushroom Grower in Singapore and Thailand and, armed with the qualifications of a Deep Mushrooms Cultivation Certificate and a Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation Certification, is driven by the love of edible and medicinal mushrooms (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020). He operates a 17,000 square feet commercial mushroom farm in Phuket Thailand (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
THE 2020S: STATE SUPPORT AND THE RISE OF INDUSTRY 4.0.
The value of exports of the commodity group "Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn" from Singapore came up to US$4.65 million in 2020 and this commodity group’s sales figure from Singapore increased by 5.65% compared to 2019 (UN Comtrade, 2021). Exports of live plants (including their roots), cuttings/slips and mushroom spawn came up to 0.001% of total exports from Singapore (Singapore’s total merchandise exports is valued at US$374 billion in 2020) (UN Comtrade, 2021). The share of this commodity group (including mushroom spawn) in overall Singaporean exports from Singapore increased by 0.001 percentage points (p.p.) vis-a-vis 2019 (it was 0% in 2019 and cumulative Singapore exports came up to US$390 billion) (UN Comtrade, 2021). Please see Table 1 for the import and export figures.
In 2019, the authorities allocated land for farming, provided grants and laws to encourage farming and, in April 2020, it launched S$30 million (about US$21 million) financing to assist Singaporean farmers to increase output through technological investments (Feng 2020). With state support for local agriculture, Kin Yan Agrotech’s See hopes to develop new talents and actualize the full potential of the industry as his company’s products are already distributed and retailed at super marts throughout Singapore such as NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket and Giant (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
From the 2020s onwards, the farsighted Singapore government has also put in place other ways to support the local mushroom farming industry, including working with educational institutions in running courses. One of the institutional stakeholders in this area is Ngee Ann Polytechnic. For those who aspire to pick up the skills of growing mushrooms, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy offers the short 3-day course module “Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning)” taught through the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology to the public (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
Such courses are important given the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies like the application of IoT (Internet of Things) for monitoring and maintenance, pest and disease management, and the commercial operations in founding and managing a mushroom farm, its marketing opportunities and business strategies (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020). As for grooming future generations of the mushroom industry’s stakeholders, Senior Farm Manager of Kin Yan Agrotech See Jen Chuan continues to host kids (and giving guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits) at his farm and able to introduce the young ones to the wonders of nature after influencing/convincing/mentoring his own staff members (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
To ensure that public awareness is kept up even during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Kin Yan Agrotech even took their mushroom-growing contents on the road with the “Wheels On The Bus - Mushroom For Learning!” initiative in conjunction with National Heritage Board (NHB) Singapore Heritage Fest (NHB, 2021). The event was run on 9, 16, 23 and 30 May 2021 in the following time schedules: 8.30 am – 11.00 am, 10.30 am – 1.00 pm, 12.30 pm – 3.00 pm, 2.30 pm – 5.00 pm and members of the public can simply participate with registration (NHB, 2021). The workshop program features the items of cultivating mushrooms under the guidance of Kin Yan Agrotech technicians, a guided tour of the company’s pesticide-free commercial mushroom farm (biggest in Singapore) (NHB, 2021). Such public awareness programs run in conjunction with Singapore’s heritage week gives it historical significance as well.
POLICY SUMMARY/CONCLUSION.
The Singaporean government authorities dispensing of land and grants in 2019 to encourage farming and financing to help local farmers augment their production through the use of technologies are the earliest forms of assistance to the mushroom growing industry amongst other cultivators. The provision of skills training and courses on mushroom cultivation in the Ministry of Education (MOE)’s autonomous polytechnics is also a valuable contribution to pedagogy and knowledge dissemination/sharing (including that of Industry 4.0 technological implications for mushroom cultivation) to interested potential mushroom cultivators. Working with the heritage authorities in running mushroom-growing programs for the public is an important means of creating public awareness.
Singaporean consumers have shown their interest in spending more money for healthy, fresh and hygienic mushrooms and is currently a net importer of fresh mushrooms (above 95% of its fresh mushrooms supply come from other agricultural economies) and the fresh mushroom market’s growth works out to be around 2.88% in the years 2016-2020 (Market Research.com, 2022). The current market is focused on the following mushroom varieties: button, shiitake, oyster mushrooms and miscellaneous others and they are distributed through the major local distributors of Aries Fresh, FreshDirect, Mycofarm Global, SGvegetables, Ban Choon Marketing, Thygrace Marketing, Champ Fungi, Hup Heng Fresh Produce (many of whom are importers while Mycofarm Global is a cultivator that has its own in-house packaging room for direct delivery to supermarkets) and their sales have been driven by trends like more Singaporeans becoming vegetarians, demand for mushroom farm tourism trending towards more foreign tourists (especially Agrotech and Mycofarm, a positive trend given that Singapore is a major tourism/shopping hub) (Market Research.com, 2022).
There is also a trend towards consumption of specialty mushrooms like the Japanese-grown Maitake mushroom introduced/promoted by the Hokto Kinoko Corporation of Japan to Singapore in 2015 through cooking shows, sampling in upmarket restaurants; they are well-endowed in proteins, vitamins and minerals to strengthen the immunity (Market Research.com, 2022). Porcini, Morel, forest, chanterelle, wild/seasonal mushrooms are likewise in strong demand. Therefore, these are possible policy directions for the government to assist cultivators in building up their capacities (through grants, provision of resources, land and skills training for example) for growing seasonal/specialty/higher-end mushroom varieties attractive to vegetarians and meeting increasing demand for mushroom farm tourism. Another way that the authorities can assist is in meeting the challenges of highly-skilled managerial manpower in the laborious work of mushroom growing (Market Research.com, 2022). These manpower resources must be able to understand the idiosyncratic needs of each mushroom species, their specialized treatment, ensuring consistency in growth, physical strength in carrying logs for incubation/sawing trees/soaking, penchant for outdoor activities, willingness to carry out physical logistics to the marketplace (Market Research.com, 2022). Out of Singapore’s labour force of 3.08 million workers, only 0.1% is found in the agricultural sector and meeting such rigorous abovementioned criteria makes the pool even smaller (even more so for retention of such workers as Singaporeans may shun physical hard work) (Market Research.com, 2022). The manpower authorities may need to encourage more locals to take up such work by highlighting its merits or be prepared to allow foreign talents in this field to work in Singapore and strike an equilibrium on these two initiatives.
REFERENCES
Ee, Jaime and Jessica Chan. Singapore urban farmers proving that farm-to-table works in Singapore. Business Times and The Peak, 15 August 2019. Retrieved from https://www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg/gourmet-travel/singapore-urban-farmers/
Feng, Zengkun. Feeding the City – the Growth of Urban Agriculture. Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 11 June 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Resources/Ideas-and-Trends/feeding-the-...
Freepatentonline (FPO). Mushroom cultivation. Freepatentonline (FPO), 2004. Retrieved from https://www.freepatentsonline.com/4987698.html
Market Research.com. Fresh Mushrom Market in Singapore 2016-2020. Market Research.com, 31 March 2022. Retrieved from https://www.marketresearch.com/Infiniti-Research-Limited-v2680/Fresh-Mus...
Mycofarm. About. Mycofarm, undated. Retrieved from https://mycofarm.weebly.com/about.html
National Heritage Board (NHB). Relieve the Stories of Singapore's Past at Singapore Heritagefest 2021. National Heritage Board Singapore Heritage Fest Media Release, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.nhb.gov.sg/-/media/nhb/files/media/releases/2021/media-relea...
Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy. Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning). Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 28 September 2020. Retrieved from https://www.cet.np.edu.sg/courses/mushroom-cultivation-for-city-farmers/
Oatberry.com. The Mushroom Farm. Oatberry.com, 2022. Retrieved from https://oatberry.com/collections/the-mushroom-farm
SGP Business. Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd. SGP Business, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.sgpbusiness.com/company/Everbloom-Mushroom-Pte-Ltd
Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Meet See Jen Chuan. SFA website, 21 August 2020. Retrieved from https://www.sfa.gov.sg/fromSGtoSG/farmers/farmer/Detail/see-jen-chuan
Tan, Rachel. 6 Local Produce Farms To Visit In Singapore. Michelin Guide, 29 April 2019. Retrieved from https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-out/6-local-produce-farm...
UN Comtrade. Singapore Imports and Exports World Live plants, cuttings, slips, mushroom spawnValue (US$) and Value Growth, YoY (5) 2009-2020. TrendEconomy, 14 November 2021. Retrieved from https://trendeconomy.com/data/h2/Singapore/0602
The Development of Singapore’s Mushroom Farming Industry
ABSTRACT
Singapore’s first mushroom farm was the Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd incorporated on 1 April 1981. One of the legacies of this early era of mushroom farming in Singapore is the Mushroom Farm which specializes in supplying fresh organically-grown mushrooms in Singapore. One of the contemporary farm’s brand heritage is traceable back to 1980 when its biotech founder was driven to market the nutritional and medicinal value of locally-cultivated organic mushrooms by constructing Singapore's first mushroom farm. In 1991, Everbloom published a patent for mushroom cultivation in the US (United States Patent Number 4987698) that copyrighted a methodology of growing decomposed wood edible mushroom by mixing fungi spawn with a substrate made of hydrated and sterilized/pasteurized wood. In the 2000s and 2010s, some mid-career urban farmers began to appear as they pursued their passion in farming. The 2010s also saw Singaporean mushroom farms providing children’s educational programs, guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits for hobbyists. They also developed processed mushroom products like mushroom chips and soap for Singapore customers. From at least since 2016, the mushroom industry in Singapore began to offer organic products for the health-conscious. Some entrepreneurs started to nurse ambitions of food self-sufficiency and heightened health-consciousness. In 2019, the authorities allocated land for farming, provided grants and laws to encourage farming and, in April 2020, the government launched a S$30 million (about US$21 million) financing scheme to assist Singaporean farmers to increase output through technological investments (Feng, 2020). The education authorities complemented such efforts with mushroom-growing education. Ngee Ann Polytechnic Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy offers a short 3-day course module called “Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning).” Such courses are important given the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies like the application of IoT (Internet of Things) for monitoring & maintenance, pest and disease management, and the commercial operations in founding and managing a mushroom farm, its marketing opportunities and business strategies (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
Keywords: mushroom, Singapore, strategy, entrepreneur, shiitake
THE 1980S: GENESIS AND BIOTECH ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Singapore’s first mushroom farm was Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd incorporated on 1 April 1981 in Singapore with its registered office at The Mendel building (at 12 Science Park Drive #04-01 The Mendel Singapore 118225) with the major activity of growing mushroom and other crops for wholesale business (SGP Business, 2015). One of the legacies of this early era of mushroom farming in Singapore is the Mushroom Farm which specializes in supplying fresh organically-grown mushrooms in Singapore whose brand heritage is traceable back to 1980 when its biotech founder was driven to market the nutritional and medicinal value of locally-cultivated organic mushrooms by constructing Singapore's first mushroom farm (Oatberry.com, 2022). Since then, it has gone into mushroom-based food processing as well to provide finished food products to consumers (Oatberry.com, 2022).
THE 1990S: SCIENTIFIC RATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION.
In 1991, Everbloom published a patent for mushroom cultivation in the US (United States Patent Number 4987698) that copyrighted a methodology of growing decomposed wood edible mushroom by mixing fungi spawn with a substrate made of hydrated and sterilized/pasteurized wood (cut up to 3 mm) before exposing it to ideal conditions for growth that includes the use of thermal shock treatment (FPO, 2004). The patent (filed on 30 November 1988 and published on 29 January 1991) listed the holder/inventor as Tan Kok-kheng of Singapore and Shiitake mushrooms and white rot fungi as the main cultivars of this methodology which is characterized as conditioned cultivation rather than mushroom growth under reasonably wild conditions which is the conventional method (FPO, 2004). The humidity level of the environment is maintained above 90% until the cropping stage for the wood-decaying fungi as opposed to compost-growth fungi and this methodology can be applied for edible wood-rotting fungi including the abalone/oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus cystidiosus/P. abalonus), the Shiitake/Chinese black forest mushroom (Lentinus edodes) (FPO, 2004).
Using this methodology, the most challenging cultivar is the Shiitake mushrooms because it proliferates only on wood (further treated as lignin and cellulose) while other wood-rot fungi can be grown on cellulose bases like cotton or straws (FPO, 2004). This was the first farming method that did not require the conventional inoculated wooden blocks that are isolated for months for spawning/fruiting to occur, a process which can be time-consuming and yields random harvest results (FPO, 2004). The methodology also has the secret formula of adding nutrients to the damp wood substrate made from a carbon source and other ingredients like rice bran and water to promote growth before harvesting at an ideal stage when all the mushrooms are growing/fruiting in a particular area of the substrate for efficient cropping (FPO, 2004).
The methodology also covers the ideal temperatures for thermal shock treatment implemented on the growing mushrooms at approximately 28 °C, as any temperatures above 30 °C will destroy the Shiitake fungus (FPO, 2004). The mushrooms are maintained at this high temperature for approximately 1-7 days as a resting period before dropping the temperature to about 10 to 15 °C for typically 1-5 days and such extreme temperature differences induces efficient fungi fruiting (FPO, 2004). This patent thus represented the scientific and innovative historical phase of the mushroom industry in Singapore.
The value brought about by this patent can be demonstrated using a before and after scenario and perhaps summarized into three points. First, Everbloom Mushrooms Pte Ltd.’s Dr. K. K. Tan successful patent meant that he was able to have an ease of mind to work towards commercial sales with legal protection and the ease of mind that his creation and brainchild will be legally protected and enforced against industrial pilfering and it took him 25 years from the founding of the company to make it commercially viable (Mycofarm, undated). This is especially important given that, before the patent, the Shiitake mushroom itself which originated from China where it was successfully grown for above a thousand years (Mycofarm, undated) is not a unique organism or centered around an idiosyncratic cultivation method that enjoys natural copyrights.
Second, before patenting, Shiitake mushroom has long been an ingredient for medicinal purposes as it is rich in vitamins and minerals and have been extensively documented by the Chinese or yore as an “elixir of life” before they were also cultivated in Japan (where the namesake "Shiitake" originated) for the same purpose (Mycofarm, undated). Therefore, a starting point for patenting a unique cultivation method enables Dr. K. K. Tan (who holds the appointments of Chief Executive Officer-CEO and founder of the renamed MycoBiotech Inc. in 2006) to produce more downstream processed pharmaceutical products. It is known to enhance the immune system, aiding the body to capitalize on its natural qualities of resisting infections/diseases and optimize its anti-tumour qualities (an important discovery journey given that there is still competitive ongoing research in this area) (Mycofarm, undated).
Finally, natural Shiitake which grows in the wild on oak logs (Shii means ‘oak’ and take means ‘mushroom’ in Japanese language) are typically widely cultivated in the modern period in plastic-bag logs filled with wood substrates (Mycofarm, undated). After patenting, the thermal shock treatment process, wood preparation, humidity data, use of rice bran with well-kept proportionality information becomes the sole ownership of Everbloom (now Mycobiotech Inc.) and so the efficiency in adjusting/accelerating the shiitake mushroom’s natural incubation period of almost 100 days (Mycofarm, undated) can be protected as a trade secret.
THE 2000S-2010S: MATURITY AND DIVERSIFICATION INTO SERVICES.
In the 2000s/2010s, some mid-career urban farmers began to appear as they pursued their passion in farming. A good example is Senior Farm Manager of Kin Yan Agrotech See Jen Chuan, previously a shop owner retailing foodstuffs and herbal drinks, who found his passion in farming at a later stage of his career in 2014, particularly due to its nexus with nature (Singapore Food Agency, 2020). Kin Yan has progressed to become Singapore’s biggest wheatgrass and mushroom-growing facility (Singapore Food Agency, 2020). The 2010s also saw Singaporean mushroom farms like See’s providing children’s educational programs, guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits for hobbyists at his farm in the hope of having future generations of Singaporeans share their skills acquired from the farm visit and developing a newfound appreciation for nature (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
The same decade gave rise to farmers like Mycofarm (a specialist mushroom grower) developing processed mushroom products like mushroom chips and soap for Singapore customers in addition to operating daily guided excursions for S$4.50 (US$3.32) to S$6.00 (US$4.43) per entry per person to the Grow Rooms to observe oyster mushrooms and shiitake cultivation on logs in cold rooms, and the process of harvesting and packing (Tan, 2018). The gradual specialization of the Singapore mushroom industry in the 2010s is visible from the diversity of services now offered for stakeholders. For example, Jay Neo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Mushroom Kingdom farm in Singapore organizes culinary lessons and guided tours, collaborating intimately with science teachers from primary and secondary schools to build mushroom farms on their campuses (Ee and Chan, 2019).
From at least 2016, the mushroom industry in Singapore began to offer home-grown organic products for the health-conscious. Mushroom Kingdom founded by Philbert Khoo, Janson Chan and Jay Neo has been providing non-chemical and no-pesticide fungi, providing fresh portobello, grey oyster mushrooms and black fungus to local establishments like Hai Di Lao (a hotpot chain restaurant), Prive and Creative Eateries and even developed their own healthy shiitake Shroom Bites distributed through 7Eleven stores in Singapore (Ee and Chan, 2019).
This decade also saw the rise of mushroom enthusiasts eager to do some urban food gardening. Mushroom Kingdom, for example, retails the My Mushroom Garden cultivation kit (priced at S$17.90), for individuals keen to cultivate their own grey oyster mushrooms in an eco-friendly way using rice bran, limes, corn husks and 4 sessions of watering daily to generate the spores into a substantial mushroom bunch within 12 days and the hard work spent may also educate the consumers on the effort needed to grow mushrooms (Ee and Chan, 2019).
At this point of the Singapore mushroom industry’s historical development, some entrepreneurs were already nursing ambitions of food self-sufficiency and heightened health-consciousness. Business strategizing is very important in this business as it provides a marketing niche for mushroom entrepreneurs. Jay Neo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Mushroom Kingdom articulated: “Mushroom Kingdom wants Singapore to become self-sufficient in fresh food production. People should be able to have peace of mind when wanting to dine healthier, from having a sustainable, traceable source to a product that’s high in nutrition at an affordable price” (Ee and Chan, 2019).
While the ambitions for food self-sufficiency were internalized amongst these idealists, there were other Singaporean mushroom entrepreneurs who were already developing external wings at this particular juncture of mushroom-growing history in Singapore. For example, Leong William, who is a Mushroom Grower in Singapore and Thailand and, armed with the qualifications of a Deep Mushrooms Cultivation Certificate and a Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation Certification, is driven by the love of edible and medicinal mushrooms (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020). He operates a 17,000 square feet commercial mushroom farm in Phuket Thailand (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
THE 2020S: STATE SUPPORT AND THE RISE OF INDUSTRY 4.0.
The value of exports of the commodity group "Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn" from Singapore came up to US$4.65 million in 2020 and this commodity group’s sales figure from Singapore increased by 5.65% compared to 2019 (UN Comtrade, 2021). Exports of live plants (including their roots), cuttings/slips and mushroom spawn came up to 0.001% of total exports from Singapore (Singapore’s total merchandise exports is valued at US$374 billion in 2020) (UN Comtrade, 2021). The share of this commodity group (including mushroom spawn) in overall Singaporean exports from Singapore increased by 0.001 percentage points (p.p.) vis-a-vis 2019 (it was 0% in 2019 and cumulative Singapore exports came up to US$390 billion) (UN Comtrade, 2021). Please see Table 1 for the import and export figures.
In 2019, the authorities allocated land for farming, provided grants and laws to encourage farming and, in April 2020, it launched S$30 million (about US$21 million) financing to assist Singaporean farmers to increase output through technological investments (Feng 2020). With state support for local agriculture, Kin Yan Agrotech’s See hopes to develop new talents and actualize the full potential of the industry as his company’s products are already distributed and retailed at super marts throughout Singapore such as NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket and Giant (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
From the 2020s onwards, the farsighted Singapore government has also put in place other ways to support the local mushroom farming industry, including working with educational institutions in running courses. One of the institutional stakeholders in this area is Ngee Ann Polytechnic. For those who aspire to pick up the skills of growing mushrooms, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy offers the short 3-day course module “Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning)” taught through the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology to the public (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020).
Such courses are important given the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies like the application of IoT (Internet of Things) for monitoring and maintenance, pest and disease management, and the commercial operations in founding and managing a mushroom farm, its marketing opportunities and business strategies (Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 2020). As for grooming future generations of the mushroom industry’s stakeholders, Senior Farm Manager of Kin Yan Agrotech See Jen Chuan continues to host kids (and giving guided tours as well as selling wheatgrass kits) at his farm and able to introduce the young ones to the wonders of nature after influencing/convincing/mentoring his own staff members (Singapore Food Agency, 2020).
To ensure that public awareness is kept up even during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Kin Yan Agrotech even took their mushroom-growing contents on the road with the “Wheels On The Bus - Mushroom For Learning!” initiative in conjunction with National Heritage Board (NHB) Singapore Heritage Fest (NHB, 2021). The event was run on 9, 16, 23 and 30 May 2021 in the following time schedules: 8.30 am – 11.00 am, 10.30 am – 1.00 pm, 12.30 pm – 3.00 pm, 2.30 pm – 5.00 pm and members of the public can simply participate with registration (NHB, 2021). The workshop program features the items of cultivating mushrooms under the guidance of Kin Yan Agrotech technicians, a guided tour of the company’s pesticide-free commercial mushroom farm (biggest in Singapore) (NHB, 2021). Such public awareness programs run in conjunction with Singapore’s heritage week gives it historical significance as well.
POLICY SUMMARY/CONCLUSION.
The Singaporean government authorities dispensing of land and grants in 2019 to encourage farming and financing to help local farmers augment their production through the use of technologies are the earliest forms of assistance to the mushroom growing industry amongst other cultivators. The provision of skills training and courses on mushroom cultivation in the Ministry of Education (MOE)’s autonomous polytechnics is also a valuable contribution to pedagogy and knowledge dissemination/sharing (including that of Industry 4.0 technological implications for mushroom cultivation) to interested potential mushroom cultivators. Working with the heritage authorities in running mushroom-growing programs for the public is an important means of creating public awareness.
Singaporean consumers have shown their interest in spending more money for healthy, fresh and hygienic mushrooms and is currently a net importer of fresh mushrooms (above 95% of its fresh mushrooms supply come from other agricultural economies) and the fresh mushroom market’s growth works out to be around 2.88% in the years 2016-2020 (Market Research.com, 2022). The current market is focused on the following mushroom varieties: button, shiitake, oyster mushrooms and miscellaneous others and they are distributed through the major local distributors of Aries Fresh, FreshDirect, Mycofarm Global, SGvegetables, Ban Choon Marketing, Thygrace Marketing, Champ Fungi, Hup Heng Fresh Produce (many of whom are importers while Mycofarm Global is a cultivator that has its own in-house packaging room for direct delivery to supermarkets) and their sales have been driven by trends like more Singaporeans becoming vegetarians, demand for mushroom farm tourism trending towards more foreign tourists (especially Agrotech and Mycofarm, a positive trend given that Singapore is a major tourism/shopping hub) (Market Research.com, 2022).
There is also a trend towards consumption of specialty mushrooms like the Japanese-grown Maitake mushroom introduced/promoted by the Hokto Kinoko Corporation of Japan to Singapore in 2015 through cooking shows, sampling in upmarket restaurants; they are well-endowed in proteins, vitamins and minerals to strengthen the immunity (Market Research.com, 2022). Porcini, Morel, forest, chanterelle, wild/seasonal mushrooms are likewise in strong demand. Therefore, these are possible policy directions for the government to assist cultivators in building up their capacities (through grants, provision of resources, land and skills training for example) for growing seasonal/specialty/higher-end mushroom varieties attractive to vegetarians and meeting increasing demand for mushroom farm tourism. Another way that the authorities can assist is in meeting the challenges of highly-skilled managerial manpower in the laborious work of mushroom growing (Market Research.com, 2022). These manpower resources must be able to understand the idiosyncratic needs of each mushroom species, their specialized treatment, ensuring consistency in growth, physical strength in carrying logs for incubation/sawing trees/soaking, penchant for outdoor activities, willingness to carry out physical logistics to the marketplace (Market Research.com, 2022). Out of Singapore’s labour force of 3.08 million workers, only 0.1% is found in the agricultural sector and meeting such rigorous abovementioned criteria makes the pool even smaller (even more so for retention of such workers as Singaporeans may shun physical hard work) (Market Research.com, 2022). The manpower authorities may need to encourage more locals to take up such work by highlighting its merits or be prepared to allow foreign talents in this field to work in Singapore and strike an equilibrium on these two initiatives.
REFERENCES
Ee, Jaime and Jessica Chan. Singapore urban farmers proving that farm-to-table works in Singapore. Business Times and The Peak, 15 August 2019. Retrieved from https://www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg/gourmet-travel/singapore-urban-farmers/
Feng, Zengkun. Feeding the City – the Growth of Urban Agriculture. Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 11 June 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Resources/Ideas-and-Trends/feeding-the-...
Freepatentonline (FPO). Mushroom cultivation. Freepatentonline (FPO), 2004. Retrieved from https://www.freepatentsonline.com/4987698.html
Market Research.com. Fresh Mushrom Market in Singapore 2016-2020. Market Research.com, 31 March 2022. Retrieved from https://www.marketresearch.com/Infiniti-Research-Limited-v2680/Fresh-Mus...
Mycofarm. About. Mycofarm, undated. Retrieved from https://mycofarm.weebly.com/about.html
National Heritage Board (NHB). Relieve the Stories of Singapore's Past at Singapore Heritagefest 2021. National Heritage Board Singapore Heritage Fest Media Release, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.nhb.gov.sg/-/media/nhb/files/media/releases/2021/media-relea...
Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy. Mushroom Cultivation for City Farmers (Classroom Learning). Ngee Ann Continuing Education & Training (CET) Academy, 28 September 2020. Retrieved from https://www.cet.np.edu.sg/courses/mushroom-cultivation-for-city-farmers/
Oatberry.com. The Mushroom Farm. Oatberry.com, 2022. Retrieved from https://oatberry.com/collections/the-mushroom-farm
SGP Business. Everbloom Mushroom Pte Ltd. SGP Business, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.sgpbusiness.com/company/Everbloom-Mushroom-Pte-Ltd
Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Meet See Jen Chuan. SFA website, 21 August 2020. Retrieved from https://www.sfa.gov.sg/fromSGtoSG/farmers/farmer/Detail/see-jen-chuan
Tan, Rachel. 6 Local Produce Farms To Visit In Singapore. Michelin Guide, 29 April 2019. Retrieved from https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-out/6-local-produce-farm...
UN Comtrade. Singapore Imports and Exports World Live plants, cuttings, slips, mushroom spawnValue (US$) and Value Growth, YoY (5) 2009-2020. TrendEconomy, 14 November 2021. Retrieved from https://trendeconomy.com/data/h2/Singapore/0602