Vertical farming expands in Singapore

From New Hampshire Public Radio:

Vertical farming is taking hold across Singapore — not only in greenhouses in the vanishing countryside but also on rooftops in the heart of the city, amid soaring skyscrapers and housing blocks. The goal is to farm as efficiently as possible and maximize the remaining land — as well as abandoned and under-utilized spaces — and improve Singapore's ability to provide more of its own food.

In the 1960s, farms occupied about 10 percent of Singapore's 280 square miles, says Ngiam Tong Tau, a former government official who now is chairman of Sky Greens, one of Singapore's vertical farms.

Today, it has shrunk to less than 1 percent to make way for housing and industry.

Not only is land in short supply, but water is, too. Singapore imports an estimated 30 to 40 percent of its water from neighbor Malaysia.

All this means that these new rooftop and vertical farms could make a big difference for Singapore, helping to insulate it from both natural and man-made threats to its food supply that result in periodic food shortages and price spikes.

To read the full story, visit New Hampshire Public Radio's website.