How can you provide food security for one of the world’s most densely populated cities when you have no land for agriculture?
With a population of five million people on a landmass of only 715 square kilometres, Singapore is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Due to its densely populated area, Singapore is highly dependent on the food imports from its neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
This is not an issue that solely concerns the island of Singapore. By 2030 global food production will have to double, to feed all people on earth properly. Due to the usage of antibiotics, oil, soy, and so on, today, food production has a significantly negative impact on our environment and is accelerating climate change. Consequently, we must look for alternative means of production.
In recent years Singapore has started to implement the concept of Vertical Farming. Vertical farming, also called Skyscraper Farming, moves away from planting crops on large pieces of land but utilises high-rise buildings, such as old factory buildings or warehouses, to produce food. Crops are stacked on top of each other in a climate-controlled indoor facility. This food revolution manages to deliver considerable yields with considerably less land, water, and energy resources.
Most vertical farms use enclosed structures, similar to greenhouses, which massively save space. Hydroponic methodsuse mineralised water as a growing medium instead of soil which reduces the water requirements by up to 70%. The use of aeroponics further reduces weight and water requirements. Vertical farming typically uses a mix of natural light and artificial light. Artificial lighting is often LED-based and may be driven by a renewable power source such as solar power or wind turbines. Pesticides or herbicides are not necessary because the crops do not need any soil. Vertical farming, therefore, eliminates numerous manual labour tasks. Moreover, the use of robots and AI enables a vertical farm to provide consistent, high-quality, and prodigious output.
Not only does vertical farming help to reduce water, land and energy resources usage, it also minimizes carbon dioxide emissions by preceding the transportation of foreign products. As the organic food and beverage market are expected to grow immensely soon, Vertical Farming is likely to turn into a highly promising market. Thanks to this food revolution, Singapore is now able to enjoy environmental-friendly and local products.