The Urban Lab is a dedicated exhibition space by URA that opened in January 2015. This is part of URA’s efforts to bring R&D out of the labs to the community and public domain, so as to foster a more conducive environment where the R&D community, industry and public agencies can openly learn and share new ideas, trigger discussions, and forge partnerships and collaborations.
‘Growing More with Less’, the latest Urban Lab exhibition presented by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and launched today by Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Dr Koh Poh Koon, brings visitors through the cutting edge advances taking place in farming. It showcases how innovations in technology, engineering and design are coming together to transform the farming sector and revolutionise food production. The exhibition also sets out the exciting possibilities that can be unlocked, such as a more food resilient future for cities and possible new job types and opportunities for Singapore.
The fifth edition in the Urban Lab exhibition series, ‘Growing More with Less’ is divided into two main sections: ‘cultivating a more food resilient future’ and ‘farming anywhere and everywhere’. The first section examines how Singapore’s food resilience, or capability to produce food for itself, can be significantly strengthened where leafy vegetables and fish are concerned. The second section demonstrates how farming can take place in unusual and creative places, maximising Singapore’s scarce land resources. These include underutilised urban spaces, on the water or even in mixed-use developments that have greenhouses side-by-side with office spaces.
“More and more, we see farmers no longer doing business as usual, but rather, forging ahead with innovative methods and adopting technologies not previously associated with the farming sector. The possibilities for ramping up food production with less land, labour and resources are tremendous. This topic is especially relevant given the increasing vulnerabilities of global food supply chains; building up food resilience is a pressing concern for all cities,” said URA’s Chief Executive Officer Lim Eng Hwee.
“This exhibition serves as a timely opportunity to raise awareness on food security. We want to get the public excited about the possibilities of agritechnology. We also want our farmers to be inspired and explore how the innovative farming methods can be adapted for local use, develop farms of the future and help bolster our food security,” said Ms Tan Poh Hong, Chief Executive Officer of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).
Through local and overseas case studies, visitors are given a behind-the-scenes look at the ideas and technologies powering the transformation of the farming industry. The exhibition explores concepts such as large indoor farm factories, farms with robots as automated labour, and modular and scalable farms that can be located anywhere in the urban environment. For more on the exhibition highlights, please see Annex A [PDF, 290kb].
‘Growing More with Less’ is brought to you by URA in partnership with AVA. It will be exhibiting at the URA Centre Atrium from 6 September to 31 October 2017. Admission is free. The public can also sign up for a talk by local farmers to learn more about their companies’ innovative farming systems and their journeys towards the future of farming. For more information, please visit https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/urbanlab/visit-exhibition/current/Growing-More-With-Less.