Soundwave Sensors and AI Feeding Help Singapore's Farms Grow Smarter

Singapore's aquaculture farms are turning to AI and digital tools to get more out of every harvest — from sensors that listen to shrimps while they eat, to a new national app built to replace paper-based record keeping. The push arrives as the sector wrestles with manpower constraints and rising operating costs, and it pairs homegrown technology with government-linked infrastructure to make small farms leaner.

At the centre of the effort is the SG Farm App, a digital record-keeping platform developed by the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (SAFEF) together with DEX, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Live since May, the app lets farm workers log feed usage, stocking numbers and harvest volumes in near real time, giving operators a clearer view of productivity, expenses and each production cycle's performance. It has been rolled out at two farms so far, including the National Broodstock Centre which breeds tilapia fingerlings, with more farms being onboarded.

The AI side is where the sector gets genuinely clever. At Max Koi Farm, sensors analyse the soundwaves shrimps produce during feeding to estimate both the population in each pond and how actively the animals are eating. That data feeds into AquaEasy, a locally developed AI platform, which then recommends the optimal amount of feed and the best feeding schedule. SAFEF chief executive Ken Cheong says the system can now independently gauge how much the animals are consuming and how many are in a pond — observation work that traditionally demanded constant manual attention from farmers.

For an industry with thin margins and scarce labour, this is more than novelty. Accurate, authenticated records are also the gateway to recognised certifications such as the Singapore Food Agency's Good Aquaculture Practice for Fish Farming, which strengthens the competitiveness of local produce. SAFEF says it intends to keep the app's subscription pricing affordable so the productivity and labour gains outweigh the fees — a practical acknowledgement that adoption hinges on cost, not just capability.

Why it matters for Singapore: With over 90 per cent of food imported and a national goal of producing 30 per cent of nutritional needs locally by 2030, Singapore's farms must do more with less. Projects like the SG Farm App and AquaEasy show the Smart Nation playbook working at ground level — not flashy moonshots, but practical AI that helps small farms run leaner, keep better records and hold their own against cheaper imports.