Veggies to be grown at more HDB carpark rooftops

Tender for 9 sites launched amid push to raise local food production

Citiponics co-founder Danielle Chan at the local agri-tech firm's carpark rooftop farm in Ang Mo Kio. The company plans to take part in the latest tender and expand its production capacity, but that will depend on further on-site assessments.
Citiponics co-founder Danielle Chan at the local agri-tech firm's carpark rooftop farm in Ang Mo Kio. The company plans to take part in the latest tender and expand its production capacity, but that will depend on further on-site assessments. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

The rooftops of nine multi-storey carparks in Singapore will be converted for use to farm vegetables and other food crops later this year.

The tender for the sites was launched yesterday by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA): five single sites in Ang Mo Kio, Tampines, Toa Payoh, Hougang and Choa Chu Kang and two cluster sites - which comprise two sites each - in Sembawang and Jurong West.

Their sizes range from 1,808 sq m - about one-third of a football field - to 3,311 sq m. Each site is up for tender for a term of three years.

For cluster sites, the successful tenderer will be awarded all the sites within the cluster.

The launch is one of the strategies adopted by the SFA to increase local food production as part of Singapore's "30 by 30" goal - to produce 30 per cent of the country's nutritional needs locally by 2030, said SFA and the Housing Board in a joint statement.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said in a Facebook post yesterday: "With Covid-19 upon us for some time, food supply disruptions are a real risk."

That is why SFA has decided to bring forward local food production plans, also known as the 30x30 Express, he added.

Last month, SFA launched the 30x30 Express grant to help local farms accelerate the production of fish, leafy vegetables and eggs over the next six to 24 months.

Local farms produced about 14 per cent of leafy vegetables, 26 per cent of eggs and 10 per cent of fish consumed in the country last year.

Said Mr Masagos: "In the meantime, we can all start showing support for local farmers now by buying local produce when grocery shopping."

The Covid-19 battle and the lockdowns in many countries have put the spotlight on Singapore's dependence on food imports and its vulnerability to global supply shocks.

The Republic currently imports over 90 per cent of its food supply.

During the supplementary budget debate last month, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said Covid-19 also underscored the importance of further strengthening Singapore's supply chain resilience and food security.

He added the Government will continue to ensure a stable supply of food and essential items by having a robust, multi-pronged strategy.

SFA said it will continue to work with HDB to launch more multi-storey carpark rooftop sites for urban farming by public tender in the second half of this year, a move also in line with HDB's Green Towns programme which seeks to cool HDB towns through the use of greenery.

Last month, SFA said it was also working to identify other spaces suitable for commercial farming, including industrial sites.

  • 14% Percentage of leafy vegetables consumed in Singapore that came from local farms last year.

    26% Percentage of eggs consumed in Singapore that came from local farms.

    10% Percentage of fish consumed in Singapore that came from local farms.

Mr Melvin Chow, senior director of SFA' s food supply resilience division, said that the launch of the tender for the nine sites come in the wake of growing interest from the industry and the public towards urban farming in community spaces, following the launch of the agency's pilot multi-storey carpark rooftop farm in Ang Mo Kio last year.

Mr Teo Hwa Kok, co-founder of local agri-tech firm Citiponics, said his company plans to take part in the latest tender and expand its production capacity beyond its Ang Mo Kio site, but that will depend on further onsite assessments.

He added that before the Covid-19 outbreak, various government agencies already had plans to open up such alternative spaces for food production, but the decision to bring them forward showed "incredible support" in driving food resilience here.

Food security expert Paul Teng said the launch of the tender was a timely one.

"Initiatives like this are never too late as it is possible to convert unused space - such as rooftops - into productive vegetable gardens yielding produce for consumption or sale within as short a time as six months," said Professor Teng.

The success of rooftop farms, however, will depend on many factors, including the choice of vegetables to grow and the growing method, he added.

"While a dozen or so rooftop farms may not significantly affect the availability of vegetables as a whole in the country, any amount that is locally produced goes that extra step to reduce our dependency on imports.

"It also builds up the spirit of self-sufficiency and valuing fresher produce with low-energy footprints."

• More details on the tender are on www.gebiz.gov.sg and www.sfa.gov.sg/urban-farming

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 13, 2020, with the headline Veggies to be grown at more HDB carpark rooftops. Subscribe