Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave a thumbs up to “Temasek Rice”, a grain variety made in Singapore, in a Facebook post on Saturday (Dec 10).
He visited the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, a non-profit research institute funded by Temasek Trust, on Friday (Dec 9) and said in his post that he enjoyed “learning about the lab’s work, its focus on sustainability and on using science to improve our environment and lives”.
Temasek Rice, which is the first and only rice variety to be created and sold here, was launched at Meidi-Ya supermarket in Liang Court in August this year.
Each 1kg packet sells for between $6.95 and $7.45.
Photo GalleryMade-in-Singapore Temasek Rice
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
The lab, located at the National University of Singapore, developed the rice, which is being grown in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia, on a small scale.
Senior principal investigator at Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory Yin Zhongchao told The Straits Times in a report in September that his grains are softer and as tasty as, or even tastier than other brown rice varieties.
Temasek Rice is specially bred to be hardy grain, able to withstand tough weather conditions such as heat, drought and floods.
Said PM Lee in his Facebook post: “I was given a packet and look forward to trying it soon.”
In October, Temasek Rice seeds were deposited into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world’s largest secure seed storage facility.
The facility houses seeds of more than 4,000 plant species for the aim of regenerating food supplies in the event of catastrophes such as natural disasters, and as a backup for other seed banks.
This article was first published on December 10, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
