Established by the Chew family in 1987, Chew’s Agriculture was born from humble beginnings. Back then, the Chew family had a chicken farm in a nearby kampong. They then decided to combine their land with their poultry farming expertise to create a commercial layer farm, supplying eggs to wholesalers.

Today, Chew’s Agriculture is producing 700,000 eggs per day, and is yet another example of how local farms are embracing new farming methods and advanced technologies to help Singapore achieve its “30 by 30” food security goal.

Director, 29-year-old Edvin Lim, who bought the farm from the Chew family 3 years ago, spoke with SAFEF about the farming practices at Chew’s Agriculture, and his commitment to providing the people of Singapore with access to fresh, nutritious, and eco-conscious eggs.

From Humble Beginnings to a High-Tech, Eco-Conscious Egg Farm

Over the past 3 decades, Chew’s Agriculture has earned a reputation for providing Singaporeans with quality produce.

In the early days, the farm consisted of a few small poultry houses with only a few thousand birds in each. Edvin described this set-up as “open houses where most work had to be manually done”. As the farm expanded and technology became more advanced, Chew’s Agriculture invested in “bigger and newer poultry houses with more automation”.

At the current farm, Chew’s Agriculture is “using the latest technology available, which require minimal human intervention”. According to Edvin, each poultry house is now “climate controlled and automatically programmed to deliver water and feed to the birds”. He added that even practices like egg collection and sorting are also “completely automated”.

A supporter of environmentally-friendly farming methods, Edvin said Chew’s Agriculture houses a “waste-to-energy plant on site”, where chicken waste is converted to electricity. In the long run, Edvin hopes that Chew’s Agriculture will “become a carbon-neutral farm.”

On his future plans for Chew’s Agriculture, Edvin revealed: “We are targeting to increase our production to meet the government’s call to strengthen Singapore’s food security.” In addition, Chew’s Agriculture is also taking steps towards being “more eco-conscious” by doubling its production of cage-free eggs.

Supporting Singapore’s Food Security

When it comes to helping Singapore become more self-sustainable, it’s local farms like Chew’s Agriculture who are leading the charge. By producing chicken eggs that meet “many of our daily nutritional needs”, Chew’s Agriculture is helping Singapore become more food secure, while providing Singaporeans with affordable, easily accessible, fresh and nutritious produce.

As Edvin said, “eggs are one of the cheapest and most readily available forms of protein”. He added that apart from being a great example of “value-for-money fresh produce”, eggs are also extremely versatile. “Steam it, fry it, or even bake with it, you are only limited by your creativity when you use eggs,” he said.

Locally-Farmed Eggs With a Difference

Chew’s Agriculture has been playing an important role in contributing to Singapore’s food security by providing consumers with a constant supply of safe and quality eggs over the years. “We have long achieved our ISO certification and have always been a proud member of the ‘Support Local’ initiative,” said Edvin.

On why we should choose local eggs, Edvin explained: “With local eggs, you can be assured that your eggs are fresh and safe. In fact, our eggs reach supermarket shelves within 24 hours of production.”

By being “the first to pioneer enriched designer eggs in Singapore” which contain additional nutrients like amino acid and Vitamin E, and now, “the first in South-East Asia to implement a cage-free system and obtain the Certified Humane label from American non-profit organisation, Humane Farm Animal Care”, Chew’s Agriculture is demonstrating its commitment to providing consumers with a wide variety of eggs to choose from.

In the future, Chew’s Agriculture will play an even bigger role in providing consumers with quality produce, and also in helping to achieve Singapore’s food security goal. This is all thanks to Chew’s Agriculture signing a 10-year, S$27 million sustainability-linked loan with DBS Bank. The loan will facilitate the construction of a new farm with larger cage-free facilities to ensure that hens laying eggs on the farm will continue to be housed in optimal conditions. This will improve the quality of the eggs produced, and enable Chew’s Agriculture to provide more nutritious eggs to health- and eco-conscious consumers.

Chew’s Agriculture will also supply its chicken manure to Neo Tiew Power to convert into synthesis gas to generate electricity for its farm. This will bring Chew’s Agriculture yet another step closer to its goal of being carbon neutral. So, when we buy Chew’s locally-farmed eggs, we too will be helping to support a more sustainable Singapore.

Where to Buy Chew’s Eggs

Buying fresh and nutritious eggs from Chew’s Agriculture is easy. Its eggs are sold at all major supermarkets and online retailers including RedMart, Amazon Prime Now, and Pandamart.

You can buy locally-farmed eggs from Chew’s Agriculture by simply visiting SAFEF’s e-SG Farmers’ Market on RedMart via this link: bit.ly/e-sgfm.

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