Abstract
Urban planners, government leaders, and the farming community have noted the important role cities play in producing their own food to manage higher levels of domestic demand, food insecurity, environmental concerns and affordability. To better understand these issues our research examines urban farming; in particular, the use of vertical farming methods. Such approaches can be used to overcome not only food safety and land resource issues, but also better manage the threats posed by rapid urbanisation. With technological developments in hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics, vertical farming has become a much more efficient and affordable means of farming in urban spaces. Overall, these high-tech systems signify a shift in the ways farming and food production can be operationalised. The results from our analysis show that Singapore, a tropical city in Asia, is making significant strides in vertical farming with substantial public and private investment in R&D through high-tech, high-yielding, land-limited farms in high-rise buildings. Despite these initiatives, Singapore faces a highly constrained urban environment where land scarcity is exacerbated by a complex regulatory land use framework.
Highlights
Over the 50 years rapidly evolving climate change issues will play a major role in developing the state of global agriculture
It is well-recognised by leading international organisations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN-Habitat (FAO, 2014;; UN-Habitat, 2014), despite the fact that people living in cities have at times tended to criticise innovative forms of urban agriculture (Benis & Ferrao, 2018;; Sanye-Mengual, et al, 2016)
Vertical farming, which involves the process of growing plants in a vertically layered system, is one of the most common types of urban farming systems, in densely populated cities like Singapore which has limited land resources at its disposal
Summary
Over the 50 years rapidly evolving climate change issues will play a major role in developing the state of global agriculture. With the assistance of technological developments in vertical farming like hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, this form of farming has become an efficient and increasingly affordable means of using urban spaces for agricultural production Singapore, as both a densely populated city and a major net food-importer, provides a perfect location for vertical farming. The extensive scale of these housing estates with their rooftop spaces represents a significant opportunity for the implementation of large- scale agricultural operations within the urban landscape These HDB estates are well supported by infrastructure development and public utility services ranging from common spaces, carparks, and waste collection, to block maintenance. Its specific Singapore focus provides a comprehensive assessment of the policy initiatives being implemented to support urban farming in the country It highlights the challenges facing the industry and provides insights into how Singapore’s urban farming model can be adopted or tailored to suit the needs of other tropical cities
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