Welcome to MEOD
Innovation is part of the everyday at MEOD, an urban farm with a vision of providing our city with safe, fresh and sustainable greens.
In Hebrew, MEOD quite aptly means ‘abundance’, and the company plans to live up to its name by supplying our city with a plethora of fresh vegetables. A six-hectare farm expansion in 2023 will see this thriving urban farm boosting its production by up to twenty-fold.
Freshness from farm to fork
Managing Director Ong Kai Hian shares about the innovative farming solutions used at MEOD.
Pesticide-free produce
“Pesticide use brings up big concerns for us. We’d like to farm it in a way that gives customers the confidence that it’s very safe,” Kai Hian says. “We’re quite stubborn about it!”
Instead of using chemical pesticides, the team at MEOD employs an expert in organic and bio control methods who uses pests and natural predators to keep their vegetables at the highest quality. Insects like ladybugs and praying mantis are used to consume pests like aphids and moths.
Natural freshness
“It’s no secret that there’s quite a long supply chain when it comes to [importing] vegetables,” Kai Hian explains. “By being localised, we immediately cut off this supply chain, so it goes from your farm to your fork faster.”
Besides being fresher, buying from farms like MEOD is also a great way to prevent food loss during transportation. Globally, about 14% of food around the world is lost during harvesting and before it reaches retail outlets.
Tech-driven abundance
“Farming in Singapore is primarily about overcoming issues of space,” Kai Hian says. “We have limited land and manpower. Heat and humidity are also problems. Plants are a lot like humans — if you’re feeling uncomfortable, plants also ‘feel the same way.”
To overcome these problems, MEOD uses various high-tech solutions like climate management and a vertical aeroponics system that delivers water and nutrients to the plants.
Embracing trial and error
“At the farm, about 30% of our time is spent on doing a lot of trials,” Kai Hian shares. “We want to understand the science behind any new systems. Just because it works in a different country doesn’t necessarily mean that it works in Singapore.”
As MEOD expands, the company will begin to implement a sophisticated hydroponics system known as the Mobile Gulley System — a sustainable technology that will help the farm achieve higher yield through automation and precise input controls throughout the plants’ life cycles.
Fascinating Farm Facts
Modern vegetable farming is a fascinating profession. Here are some fun factoids to chew on!
MEOD employs water recycling and rainwater harvesting for its crops, allowing it to use less than 1% of the water used in conventional farming.
You can’t just plant vegetable willy-nilly — Just like people, vegetables can be finicky about the company they keep. Knowing which crops are compatible with each other is known as companion planting.
Besides being worse for crops and potentially dangerous for human consumption, pesticide use can also lead to a loss of arable land.
Vegetables can lose their nutrients really quickly because of oxidisation.
Feast for SG’s food security
Eat local and do your part to support our local farming community.
Eager to taste the freshness of MEOD’s fine produce for yourself? You’ll be able to indulge in their array of fresh vegetables — like green lettuce, red bak choy and cherry tomatoes on Redmart, Cold Storage and even at various wet market establishments all across Singapore.
Keep an eye out for the SG Fresh Produce logo below to sample produce proudly grown and harvested on Singaporean soil.
