How Singapore’s rooftop gardeners are filling the food supply chain gap

As urban consumers, we tend to take it for granted that we’ll always have fruits and vegetables at our disposal in markets, groceries and other stores. But as governments across the world are implementing measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, experts warn that we’re also running out of staples.

And yet even as food is becoming scarce, wastage is getting rife. With lockdowns forcing farm workers to stay home, tonnes of produce have been left to rot without ever reaching markets.

But what if those of us who live in the concrete jungles could grow our own food and eat them, too?

The team at ComCrop’s greenhouse in Woodlands, Singapore / Photo credit: ComCrop

Singaporean startup ComCrop has developed a hydroponic farming system that allows crops to be cultivated on top of buildings – plenty of sunshine, no soil required. This could be helpful in a land-scarce country that currently imports around 90% of its food supply and has plans to produce 30% of its own “nutritional needs” by 2030.

Using its tech on a commercial scale, ComCrop produces 50 kilograms of leafy greens every day to supply supermarkets in the city-state. Founder Peter Barber tells Tech in Asia that the company is looking to boost production capacity by 10 times. That would be enough to support the daily eating habits of over 11,000 Singapore inhabitants on average.

It was a wake-up call about the need for food security.

He says the decision to speed up ComCrop’s expansion came after Singaporeans went on a round of panic-buying in March, when Malaysia announced a nationwide lockdown. The neighboring country is one of Singapore’s top sources of food products, and many were worried that supplies would run out amid such restrictions.

“It was a wake-up call about the need for food security. The shelves were empty – you could literally see your face reflected in the veggie section,” shares Barber. “We’re trying to ramp up our production so when panic-buying happens again, it wouldn’t be such a big shock to Singapore’s food supply.”

While it’s aiming to produce more, ComCrop’s main objective is to stay price competitive. “A head of lettuce can’t cost S$30 (US$21). The same workforce we’re selling to is the same workforce that’s losing jobs right now. So, we can’t say, ‘Come buy our products,’ unless we are affordable,” he explains.

Edible Garden City aims to convert underused, marginal land for urban farming. / Photo credit: Edible Garden City

Edible Garden City is another Singaporean firm that’s ramping up production to meet a higher demand for produce. Through its Citizen Farm service, the company delivers a variety of leafy vegetables, microgreens, mushrooms, herbs, and flowers, which are grown on its urban farm. “Over the past few weeks, we had a 20% increase in uptake for our weekly subscription vegetable box,” according to a spokesperson.

The social enterprise uses agritech to overcome space or climate limitations by turning underutilized areas in malls and neighborhoods into green community spaces. For example, it grows kale and specialty Japanese vegetables in indoor climate-controlled environments, stacking the planters to maximize space.

Adapting to the new normal