With limited land for farming, cities can explore creative ways of locating farms in different parts of the city.
Some local examples featured include Sky Greens’ innovative 9-metre tall system that allows vegetables to grow outdoors and vertically; Sustenir Agriculture’s indoor Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) farm that enables it to control all aspects of the environment to optimise crop growth; and Apollo Aquaculture Group’s three-tier vertical recirculating aquaculture system that lets it grow pearl grouper, coral trout, and white shrimp indoors on multiple levels.
These farms have demonstrated how innovations can lead to higher yield with less resource. If these farming practices are adopted on a larger scale, Singapore could overcome resources constraints and enhance food resilience in leafy vegetables and fish.
With limited land for farming, cities can explore creative ways of locating farms in different parts of the city. Some of the ideas featured include commercial rooftop farming and placing farms in under-utilised spaces such as under a viaduct; both of which have been piloted in Singapore. A conceptual ‘floating ponds’ typology could allow us to locate fish farms anywhere within the urban environment.
Floating farms, new building typologies and integrating farming in mixed-use districts are also considered as we explore overseas ideas for inspiration. A pilot floating food strip in Netherlands, an office building that integrates a greenhouse, and an upcoming agriculture mixed-use district in Shanghai could present a paradigm shift in the way we can carry out farming.
For farming to be more sustainable in future, private and public sectors need to continue to work together to pursue bold ideas leveraging research and technologies. A more resilient farming future also needs to be supported by good policies, creative use of space, innovative building typologies and skilled labour. With technological advancements in farming, there are exciting opportunities to be part of our local food production landscape. Now is the time to ride the wave of change. Together, we can translate these bold farming ideas into reality!