With a population of about 5.7 million people crammed on a landmass of just 715 square kilometres, the tiny Republic of Singapore has been forced to expand upwards, building high-rise residential complexes to house the country’s many inhabitants. However, that’s not all. In recent years, Singapore has become a global leader in applying the vertical model to urban agriculture – experimenting with rooftop gardens and vertical farms in order to feed its many residents and achieving some degree of food security. This desire was further highlighted most recently by the many logistically challenges endured during the early stages of the global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Currently less than 10% of Singapore’s food is grown locally. The country imports most of its fresh vegetables and fruits daily from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the China.
The solution to the problem came in the form of a public-private partnership in 2010, with the launch of what has been hailed as the “world’s first low-carbon, water-driven, rotating, vertical farm” for growing tropical vegetables in an urban environment. The result of a collaborative agreement between the then so-called Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA; since April 2019 called SFA = Singapore Food Agency) and Mr. Jack Ng, inventor and founder of a local firm called “Sky Greens” which started commercial operations in 2012. He then presented his vertical farming system also at the “World Cities Summit 2012” under the slogan “Liveable and Sustainable Solutions”.
Since 2020, the rooftops of nine multi-story car parks managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) have been made available for urban farmers to rent the space and grow crops according to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
Read the complete article at www.vertical-farming.net.