Rethinking the Business Model of Egg Production

Local egg farms in Singapore currently produce 1,230,000 eggs a day. AVA’s target by 2030 to tackle population growth is for the production of at least 30% daily consumption, which is projected to be 1,831,808 eggs a day.

In face of these food resiliency strategies and increasing land constraints, the context calls for a paradigm shift; an intensification of egg farming from which the current business model of egg production is revisited. Although the design proposal entails a transformation where the target is bumped to a 100% local production, the daily task becomes one that is to be shared among a total of 20 or more companies instead of Seng Choon, Chew’s Eggs and N&N. This would mean that operating and maintenance cost could possibly be much lowered due to outsourcing to various specialisations, which hopefully lowers the cost of locally produced eggs and drives the egg complexes into a financially sustainable solution.

An additional issue that the design proposal attempts to address is regarding land lease and lease years in Singapore. Local agricultural companies are only allowed land leases of a maximum of 30 years. Farmers are forced to relocate and reinvest every 30 years, thus turning into unsustainable businesses. It is envisioned that when more companies come together within a single area of land in a high-density model, the stakes would be higher and be able to push local authorities to reconsider lease years; specifically, 60 or even 99 years.