AgriS and NTU deepen partnership to develop joint lab for Resilient Bioinnovation
Image: Representatives of AgriS, GMA and NTU Singapore mark the next phase of partnership toward the AgriS–NTU Joint Lab for Resilient Bioinnovation at AgriS Global Nexus 2026 in Singapore. (Credit: AgriS)
Global Mind Agriculture (GMA), an AgriS member company in Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) are deepening their research and innovation partnership through the proposed establishment of the AgriS–NTU Joint Lab for Resilient Bioinnovation in Singapore, to be anchored at the Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH@NTU).
The announcement was made at AgriS Global Nexus 2026 – Converge to Elevate, held in conjunction with the opening of the AgriS Global Innovation Center in Singapore.
From scientific discovery to scalable impact
The proposed Joint Lab builds on a research and innovation partnership developed over several years. In 2023, AgriS, through its member company GMA in Singapore, joined NTU’s Singapore Agri-Food Innovation Lab (SAIL) Open Co-Innovation Programme as a Corporate Member. Since then, GMA and NTU have collaborated through industry challenge statements, engagement with solution providers and R&D interactions. The partnership progressed further in March 2025 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Hanoi to advance research and open innovation.
The Letter of Intent signed on 16 September 2026 marks the next phase of this collaboration, providing a framework for the parties to further develop the proposed Joint Lab.
Building on this foundation, the proposed Joint Lab brings the partnership into a structured phase, connecting AgriS’ agricultural, production, R&D and commercialisation platforms with NTU’s research capabilities.
Through the proposed Joint Lab, AgriS and NTU aim to create an innovation pathway that takes scientific discoveries from validation and intellectual property development through product development, commercialisation and scale, creating both commercial and societal value.
AgriS brings a production and field-validation platform spanning nearly 91,000 hectares of growing areas across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Australia, supported by 11 AgTech Hubs and approximately 9,000 hectares of research farms across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Australia and Indonesia. These operating environments provide opportunities for promising technologies and solutions to be progressively tested and validated under real agricultural conditions before potential commercial deployment.
NTU contributes research expertise and an innovation ecosystem that connects scientific discovery with technology development and industry collaboration. Together, the parties aim to create a model where research developed in Singapore can be validated at scale and applied by the industry.
Ms. Dang Huynh Uc My, Chairlady of the Board of Directors of AgriS, said: “The next generation of agricultural innovation will require more than strong research or production capability in isolation. It requires a pathway that connects science, real-world validation, industry and markets from the beginning. Through our collaboration with NTU, we want to shorten the journey from discovery to application and commercialisation, while bringing the realities and opportunities of tropical agriculture into the innovation process. The proposed Joint Lab reflects our belief that strategic partnerships can transform agricultural challenges into solutions capable of creating value at scale.”
Professor William Chen, Director of SAIL, NTU Singapore, said: “This collaboration bridges NTU’s deep scientific research with AgriS’ extensive regional agricultural platforms. By testing and validating innovative technologies under real agricultural conditions, we can translate laboratory discoveries into commercial solutions faster. This will support food resilience, sustainable farming practices, and a thriving circular bioeconomy for Singapore and the wider region"
Research focused on real-world agricultural challenges
The collaboration between AgriS and NTU Singapore is expected to translate into a portfolio of research and innovation projects across agricultural digitalisation, breeding science, manufacturing and production automation, novel food processing technologies, future functional ingredients, and carbon-credit recognition for coconut and related agricultural value chains.
The proposed AgriS - NTU Joint Lab will bring together AgriS’ agricultural capabilities and NTU’s scientific expertise across three themes: climate-resilient agriculture, agriculture-derived bioactive ingredients, and circular bioeconomy innovation.
• Climate-resilient agriculture: AgriS and NTU will explore how biotechnology, data science and artificial intelligence can support more resilient, productive and sustainable tropical agriculture. Research will also examine how agricultural data can strengthen understanding of yield, quality, climate risks and lower-carbon farming practices.
• Agriculture-derived bioactive ingredients: The collaboration will investigate how tropical crops and agricultural resources can be developed into higher-value bioactive compounds and functional ingredients for food, nutrition, wellness and future consumer applications. This direction aims to create greater value further downstream in the agricultural value chain.
• Circular bioeconomy innovation: The Joint Lab will explore opportunities to transform agricultural side streams, by-products and underutilised biomass into higher-value ingredients, materials and sustainable solutions. This work is intended to expand the value generated from agricultural resources while supporting more circular production systems.
Appropriate intellectual-property and commercialisation arrangements for technologies arising from individual projects will be addressed through separate agreements between the parties, in line with the Letter of Intent.
The collaboration aligns with Singapore Food Story 2, which introduced Global Partnerships as a key pillar of Singapore’s food resilience strategy. The proposed Joint Lab reflects this direction by linking Singapore’s research and innovation ecosystem with agricultural-scale validation and commercial pathways across tropical markets.
Singapore provides a strong base for scientific research, technology development and international collaboration, while AgriS brings operating capabilities across multiple tropical agricultural markets. Together, these complementary strengths create a platform connecting research with field validation, production and commercialisation across Vietnam and the wider region.
For AgriS, the collaboration also serves as a scientific anchor within the newly launched AgriS Global Innovation Center, which connects research, innovation, technology, capital and international markets to accelerate agricultural solutions from concept to commercialisation.
Through the proposed Joint Lab, AgriS and NTU aim to build a long-term pathway for promising research to progress into real-world applications and scalable market solutions, contributing to a new generation of climate-resilient agriculture, high-value bio-based ingredients and circular bioeconomy innovations across Asia and beyond.
