Gardening plots to increase twofold by 2030; NParks to give away seed packets to spur growing vegetables at home

The National Parks Board (NParks) aims to have 3,000 community gardens - up from 1,500 - and 3,000 allotment gardens, a threefold increase from the current level.

Building the new plots will start once the Covid-19 situation improves.

NParks also launched an initiative on Thursday (June 18) that includes distributing free packets of leafy and fruit vegetable seeds to encourage people to grow produce at home.

You can register for the seed packets on this website or call NParks at 6499 1099 from June 18 to June 30. The packets will be sent by Aug 1.

The initiative, called "Gardening with Edibles", supports Singapore's "30 by 30" goal to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030. The country now imports more than 90 per cent of its food supply.

The initiative is supported by DBS Bank and the Tote Board.

Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said: "The potential risk of disruption to our food supply during the Covid-19 situation underscores the importance of our local food farms and growing more food locally, as part of our strategy to strengthen food security and build greater social resilience."

The packets contain seeds for one type of leafy vegetable, one kind of fruit vegetable and instructions in four languages on how to plant them. You can't choose your seeds; the selection will be random.

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