Urban Farming Partners Singapore Awarded Funding to Build Dutch Technology Indoor Farm in Singapore
Urban Farming Partners Singapore (UFPSG), a unique partnership between Singapore and the Netherlands, has been awarded funding support by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) under the Agriculture Productivity Fund (APF), enabling the urban farming initiative to take the next step towards strengthening Singapore’s food supply chain and paving the way to food security.
With Singapore’s ambition to produce enough food locally to meet 30% of the country's nutritional needs by 2030, the Republic's strategies towards achieving long-term food security is more urgent than ever. As a total solution provider for urban farms, integrating proven patented technologies and expert-backed worldwide operations, UFPSG’s vision is to contribute considerably to food security in Singapore, as well as Asia.
“We started our journey in 2017 when we presented our grand vision for food sustainability and food security in and around cities globally at the World City Summit in Singapore,” said Wouter Vos, director and founder of the UrbanFarmingPartners Holding in the Netherlands and he has since taken steps to actualize this vision together with Henk van Eijk, his fellow director. This year, UFPSG will initiate construction of a $3m state-of-the-art indoor farm in Singapore, which will be partially funded by SFA. It will be located inside the premises of HSL Waterfront@Penjuru at 42D Penjuru Road in Singapore, where all types of lettuce, baby leaves, herbs as well as other crops like spring onion and fennel will be produced in a fully-controlled indoor growing environment. This indoor urban farm is a first in Singapore that utilises Dutch technology.
“’Local for Local’ and ‘The Circular Economy’ are no longer just buzzwords. The COVID-19 pandemic makes it even more apparent that we need to restructure our critical systems globally more than ever. It is time to make a notable difference with our way of life with food,” said Grace Lim, UFPSG’s Director and project representative in Singapore. This farm can potentially produce 33 Tonnes of healthy and fresh, ready-to-eat produce for the Singapore market. Circular processes like the harvest of rainwater and solar power are examples of sustainable proven technologies that will be included in the overall design of the urban farm.
Artist’s impressions of the urban farm at HSL Waterfront @Penjuru
“We are glad to see strategic collaborations between our local agri-food industry and their overseas counterparts, as this results in the transfer of innovative and productive technology to Singapore,” said Mr Melvin Chow, Senior Director of SFA’s Food Supply Resilience Division. “Harnessing technology to grow more within our constraints will need to be the new norm for our agri-food industry as we strive towards ’30 by 30’. We will continue to support farms that are keen to develop technological capabilities.”
For more information:
Urban Farming Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Grace Lim, Director, Urban Farming Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.
gracelim@urbanfarmingpartners.com
+65 97887996
Publication date: Tue 9 Jun 2020