Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund

Who qualifies

• Must be registered in Singapore.
• Applicant must be a local farm holding a valid farm licence issued by SFA.
• Applicant must have a secured farm site for implementation of the proposed project.
• For existing farms, the farm must be free of ongoing unauthorised or illegal activities for at least 1 year before the Application Date; past offences must be satisfactorily resolved and closed.
• IPCT proposals must involve participation from at least 3 farms or justify how at least 3 farms will benefit; other private sector entities, IHLs and Research Institutes may join but do not count towards the minimum of 3 farms.
• For IPCT, the lead applicant may where appropriate be a non-farm entity such as an industry partner, solution provider or research organisation, if SFA assesses that the benefits flow clearly to farms.
• TU and IPCT applicants must not exceed 2 concurrent projects at any point in time, including projects awarded under earlier tranches of the ACT Fund; officially closed projects do not count.
• SME status sets the co-funding rate, not eligibility: an SME is a company with group annual sales turnover not exceeding S$100 million OR group employment size not exceeding 200 employees.
• The project implementation period is 6 months from the Letter of Offer for CU and up to 36 months for TU and IPCT, with TU and IPCT applicants generally given up to a further 12 months to achieve committed deliverables.
• Projects must be substantially different from previous applications; similar projects may be treated as repeat projects and generally not supported. CU permits concurrent applications by an applicant and related companies only where they are not repeat projects on the same site.

What it funds

• Automation, robotics, equipment upgrades for productivity
• Core capabilities — strategy, HR, finance, branding, processes
• R&D, product development, prototyping, IP
• Energy efficiency, decarbonisation, green certification, waste reduction

Costs covered: Third-party consultant or professional service fees; Audit, testing, certification, standards fees; Software licences and SaaS; Hardware, machinery, IT equipment; Internal staff salary attributable to the project; Marketing, advertising, trade-fair booth costs; Course fees and trainer costs; IP registration and licensing costs; Overseas travel and logistics; Physical materials and consumables consumed by the funded project (e.g. construction materials, prototypes).

Maximum support: up to 70%.

For projects in primary production of leafy vegetables, fruited vegetables, beansprout, mushroom, food fish, shrimp or hen egg, CU, TU and IPCT co-fund up to 70% for SMEs and up to 50% for non-SMEs. For other food types, CU and TU co-fund up to 50% for SMEs and up to 30% for non-SMEs; IPCT does not fund other food types. Non-SMEs are eligible at the lower rate.

Recorded cap: S$10,000,000.

Caps are per component and farm type. IPCT is capped at $10 million per project for the specified primary food types; projects in primary production of other food types are not eligible for IPCT. TU is capped at $6 million per farming technology or system project and $2 million per standalone pre- or post-harvest production facility for the specified primary food types, and $700,000 and $200,000 respectively for other food types. CU is capped at $100,000 per project for the specified primary food types and $50,000 per project for other food types; CU expenses for C&G Standard and SG GAP / SG GAqP adoption carry a separate combined cap of $15,000 per company, comprising up to $10,000 for consultancy-related fees and up to $5,000 for certification-related fees. For TU and IPCT, basic manpower and professional services must each not exceed 50% of approved funding; IPR and other qualifying costs together must not exceed 20%; accounting audit fees are funded at 70%, capped at S$1,000 in addition to the approved quantum. Qualifying costs exclude GST.

Payment: Paid after the company incurs the cost and files a claim.

How to apply

Submit the application through the Business Grants Portal using CorpPass. Select BGP for the agri-food PSG; select BGP 2.0 for CU Standards Adoption and Technical Consultancy, TU and IPCT. Follow the relevant ACT Fund Application Guidelines and submit the supporting documents.

1. Ensure the farm is a local farm with a valid SFA licence and meets the offence-history condition.
2. Choose Capability Upgrading, Technology Upscaling or Industry Partnership for Capability Transformation.
3. Download the relevant ACT Fund Guidelines and proposal or project outcome templates.
4. Obtain CorpPass if needed.
5. Prepare the application and supporting documents.
6. Log in to the Business Grants Portal with CorpPass and submit the complete application.
7. Allow SFA around 12 to 20 weeks to review a complete application and respond to any clarification request.
8. If approved, accept the Letter of Offer under the Updates Required tab in My Applications within the timeline stated in the Letter of Offer.

Before applying

• The farm must hold a valid SFA farm licence.
• The farm must have a secured farm site for the proposed project.
• Only expenses incurred from the Application Date to the end of the project implementation period are eligible for reimbursement.

Documents

• Valid farm licence — Required by the ACT Fund application guidelines.
• Latest ACRA BizFile — The TU and IPCT guidelines call this the latest company ACRA BizFile.
• Latest 1-year financial statements — Required by the ACT Fund guidelines.
• Farm and project layout plans — Required by the ACT Fund guidelines.
• Project outcomes — Required for CU, TU and IPCT applications; download the ACT Fund Project Outcome Template from the SFA website. Agency document ↗
• Lease agreement — Required by the ACT Fund guidelines.
• Brochures and quotations for project items — SFA may request additional quotations from more than one supplier.
• Technology Upscaling project proposal (if applicable) — Required for TU applications; use the SFA proposal template. Agency document ↗
• Industry Partnership for Capability Transformation project proposal (if applicable) — Required for IPCT applications; use the SFA proposal template. Agency document ↗

Processing time: 12 to 20 weeks

Claiming support

Submit claims after the Letter of Offer is issued and accepted on BGP. Final claims must be submitted before the Claim Due Date in the Letter of Offer; TU and IPCT claims are reimbursed in stages, with up to 70% on interim claims and the remaining 30% on the final claim subject to deliverables. Thirty percent is withheld proportionately from interim claims until the retained sum reaches 30% of approved funding. Disbursements are made to the fund recipient via interbank GIRO.

Final claims for CU, or the final claim and project report for TU/IPCT, must be submitted before the Claim Due Date in the Letter of Offer; the guideline annexes depict a 3-month final-claim submission period.

Contact: SFA_Incentives@sfa.gov.sg

Application window: Applications for the CU, TU and IPCT Grants remain open until 31 March 2031.

Closes: 2031-03-31