Sky Greens Pte Ltd was officially opened by Senior Minister of State (Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of National Development) Lee Yi Shyan on 24 October 2012.[1] The opening of Sky Greens marked a major milestone in the area of agrotechnology in Singapore: It is the first commercial vertical farm that combines different disciplines like engineering and agronomy to develop an “innovative, productive and commercially viable solution” for enhancing local food supply.[2] Sky Greens makes use of a vertical farming system that involves plant troughs rotating around aluminium tower frames. The vertical farm produces up to 10 times more vegetables than conventional land-based farms.[3]
This particular vertical farming system is the outcome of a public-private collaboration between DJ Engineering and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) to develop an intensive vegetable-farming solution. They spent nine months researching and developing the system at AVA’s Sembawang Research Station. With the new vertical farm, Sky Greens aims to achieve a 10-percent production target of leafy vegetables.[4]
Located at Lim Chu Kang with an area approximately the size of five football fields, Sky Greens – which is a spin-off of DJ Engineering – produces about 500 kg of vegetables daily.[5] The vegetables are grown in plant troughs that rotate around 9-metre-tall towers. Each tower takes about eight hours to complete a full rotation, and in the process ensures that the plants absorb ample sunlight for growth without the need for artificial lighting. The water used to power the hydraulic system that drives the rotation of the tower is eventually recycled as water for the plants. The system is designed to be environmentally friendly, and each tower consumes only 60 watts of power daily.[6]
The vegetables grown at Sky Greens such as nai bai, xiao bai cai and Chinese cabbage[7] cost more and are sold at selected supermarkets in Singapore.[8]
References
1. First commercial vertical farm opens in Singapore. (2012). AVA Vision, (Iss. 4, p. 1). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore website: http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/0676D1EB-C401-4038-9D8D-84A01B52DD27/25808/AVA_Issue4_2012_Lowres1.pdf
2. First commercial vertical farm opens in Singapore, 2012, AVA Vision, p. 2.
3. Lim, J. (2012, October 25). First vertical farm to boost supply of local greens. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
4. Farming vegetables skywards. (2011, March). AVA Vision, p. 2. RetrievedNovember 29, 2014, from Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore website: http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/0676D1EB-C401-4038-9D8D-84A01B52DD27/18890/AVAVISION_Final.pdf
5. The news in 5 minutes. (2012, October 25). The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
6. Seneviratne, K. (2012, December 12). Farming in the sky in Singapore. Our World. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from Our World website: http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/farming-in-the-sky-in-singapore
7. Sky Greens Pte Ltd. (2011). Vegetables. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from Sky Greens website: http://skygreens.appsfly.com/Vegetables.
8. First commercial vertical farm opens in Singapore. (2012, October 24). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from Factiva.
The information in this article is valid as at 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.