Urban Farming on Rooftops of 9 HDB multi-storey car parks

[RickyWee]

https://www.todayonline.com/urban-farming-will-be-allowed-rooftops-9-hdb-multi-storey-car-parks

 

The rooftops of nine multi-storey car parks managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will soon be made available for urban farmers to rent the space and grow crops, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said.

These are car parks located in housing estates such as Chua Chu Kang, Tampines, Sembawang and Jurong West.

In a news release on Tuesday (May 12), the agency said it is doing this as part of its strategy to achieve Singapore’s “30-by-30” goal — to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs domestically by 2030.

Launching the nine sites for rental by public tender, the agency said these will add to the various alternative sites in land-constrained Singapore that are marked out for commercial farming.

It added that these rooftop spaces are also in line with HDB’s Green Towns Programme to “intensify greening” in public housing estates.

“The sites shall be used to farm vegetables and other food crops, as well as for other related purposes, such as the packing or storage of produce,” SFA said. 

The single sites available for tender, which SFA said is suitable to testbed ideas, are:

• Block 513A Choa Chu Kang Street 51 (1,934 sqm)
• Block 723A Tampines Street 72 (2,526 sqm)
• Block 946A Hougang Street 92 (1,808 sqm)
• Block 352A Ang Mo Kio Street 32 (3,171 sqm)
• Block 260 Kim Keat Avenue (2,317 sqm)

There are two cluster sites in Sembawang and Jurong West available for tender. These are meant to enable farms to “derive savings through production at scale”, SFA said. 

They are at:

• Block 354 Admiralty Drive (2,551 sqm) and Block 316A Sembawang Vista (1,831 sqm)
• Block 276 Jurong West Street 25 (2,974 sqm) and Block 273 Jurong West Avenue 3 (3,311 sqm)

Successful bidders of a cluster site will be awarded the combined spaces for the site.

The agency is working with HDB to launch more rooftop sites for urban farming by public tender in the second half of this year. The details will be released at a later date.

Tuesday’s announcement comes slightly over a year after the Citiponics urban vertical farm launched its pilot rooftop plot in February last year.

Located on top of Block 700 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, the 1,800-sqm farm was meant to be able to produce about four tonnes of vegetables a month at the height of its production.

While the SFA did not state what crops can be grown at the rooftop farms, Citiponics has grown vegetables such as nai bai (baby bok choy), kai lan (Chinese kale) and cai xin (Chinese flowering cabbage).

Mr Melvin Chow, senior director of SFA’s Food Supply Resilience Division, said that he was “heartened by the growing interest” from both the industry and the public towards urban farming in community spaces following the launch of the Citiponics farm.

“Residents in the area have been able to enjoy fresh produce from the farm at nearby supermarkets, and can witness first-hand the hard work involved in bringing our food from farm-to-fork,” he said. 

“We hope that consumers will continue to show their appreciation for our local farms by buying their produce.”

Urban farmers interviewed by TODAY said that they are looking forward to having more opportunities to cultivate crops.

Mr Veera Sekaran, founder of the urban and vertical-greenery firm Greenology, said that it is ideal to make use of any vacant spaces in Singapore for urban farming.

“HDB car parks are usually vacant at the top because many people don't want to park their cars in the sun,” he said.

Turning them into commercial spaces is a viable way for “serious players” to make a business out of urban farming, he added.

Mr Veera, who is considering bidding for one of the newly launched sites, said that he foresees rooftop farms to be high-tech in nature — though it could also involve older residents who have a knack for gardening and are looking for part-time work.

Mr Bjorn Low, co-founder of urban farming social enterprise Edible Garden City who has experience running gardens on the rooftops of buildings, said that aside from being under-utilised, car park rooftops have the added benefit of being able to withstand heavy loads.

This is unlike older buildings, which would need to have their structures reinforced in order to accommodate soil and “big bodies of water” on the rooftop, he said.

Both men agreed that having more space for urban farms would go a long way to ensure Singapore’s food security.

Mr Low said that apart from producing food, these farms offer other benefits such as providing work within the community for people in need and serving as a community space for educational purposes.

“I think this is a step in the right direction.”
 

[kobayashiGT]

20 minutes ago, RickyWee said:

https://www.todayonline.com/urban-farming-will-be-allowed-rooftops-9-hdb-multi-storey-car-parks

 

The rooftops of nine multi-storey car parks managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will soon be made available for urban farmers to rent the space and grow crops, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said.

These are car parks located in housing estates such as Chua Chu Kang, Tampines, Sembawang and Jurong West.

In a news release on Tuesday (May 12), the agency said it is doing this as part of its strategy to achieve Singapore’s “30-by-30” goal — to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs domestically by 2030.

Launching the nine sites for rental by public tender, the agency said these will add to the various alternative sites in land-constrained Singapore that are marked out for commercial farming.

It added that these rooftop spaces are also in line with HDB’s Green Towns Programme to “intensify greening” in public housing estates.

“The sites shall be used to farm vegetables and other food crops, as well as for other related purposes, such as the packing or storage of produce,” SFA said. 

The single sites available for tender, which SFA said is suitable to testbed ideas, are:

• Block 513A Choa Chu Kang Street 51 (1,934 sqm)
• Block 723A Tampines Street 72 (2,526 sqm)
• Block 946A Hougang Street 92 (1,808 sqm)
• Block 352A Ang Mo Kio Street 32 (3,171 sqm)
• Block 260 Kim Keat Avenue (2,317 sqm)

There are two cluster sites in Sembawang and Jurong West available for tender. These are meant to enable farms to “derive savings through production at scale”, SFA said. 

They are at:

• Block 354 Admiralty Drive (2,551 sqm) and Block 316A Sembawang Vista (1,831 sqm)
• Block 276 Jurong West Street 25 (2,974 sqm) and Block 273 Jurong West Avenue 3 (3,311 sqm)

Successful bidders of a cluster site will be awarded the combined spaces for the site.

The agency is working with HDB to launch more rooftop sites for urban farming by public tender in the second half of this year. The details will be released at a later date.

Tuesday’s announcement comes slightly over a year after the Citiponics urban vertical farm launched its pilot rooftop plot in February last year.

Located on top of Block 700 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, the 1,800-sqm farm was meant to be able to produce about four tonnes of vegetables a month at the height of its production.

While the SFA did not state what crops can be grown at the rooftop farms, Citiponics has grown vegetables such as nai bai (baby bok choy), kai lan (Chinese kale) and cai xin (Chinese flowering cabbage).

Mr Melvin Chow, senior director of SFA’s Food Supply Resilience Division, said that he was “heartened by the growing interest” from both the industry and the public towards urban farming in community spaces following the launch of the Citiponics farm.

“Residents in the area have been able to enjoy fresh produce from the farm at nearby supermarkets, and can witness first-hand the hard work involved in bringing our food from farm-to-fork,” he said. 

“We hope that consumers will continue to show their appreciation for our local farms by buying their produce.”

Urban farmers interviewed by TODAY said that they are looking forward to having more opportunities to cultivate crops.

Mr Veera Sekaran, founder of the urban and vertical-greenery firm Greenology, said that it is ideal to make use of any vacant spaces in Singapore for urban farming.

“HDB car parks are usually vacant at the top because many people don't want to park their cars in the sun,” he said.

Turning them into commercial spaces is a viable way for “serious players” to make a business out of urban farming, he added.

Mr Veera, who is considering bidding for one of the newly launched sites, said that he foresees rooftop farms to be high-tech in nature — though it could also involve older residents who have a knack for gardening and are looking for part-time work.

Mr Bjorn Low, co-founder of urban farming social enterprise Edible Garden City who has experience running gardens on the rooftops of buildings, said that aside from being under-utilised, car park rooftops have the added benefit of being able to withstand heavy loads.

This is unlike older buildings, which would need to have their structures reinforced in order to accommodate soil and “big bodies of water” on the rooftop, he said.

Both men agreed that having more space for urban farms would go a long way to ensure Singapore’s food security.

Mr Low said that apart from producing food, these farms offer other benefits such as providing work within the community for people in need and serving as a community space for educational purposes.

“I think this is a step in the right direction.”
 

They better barricade the entrance properly. Sure got goondu will try to park at the top floor. Then all the veggie will be gone!!!!

[Dadiao]

It would be a wonderful idea ... maybe can buy directly from the farm.

[kobayashiGT]

24 minutes ago, Dadiao said:

It would be a wonderful idea ... maybe can buy directly from the farm.

I don't think can buy direct. It will cost a price war and conflict of interest to the retail and markets.

I think best is they sell to govt, then govt sell to market, ntuc and ss.

[Playtime]

entire level of parking gone.... season parking will increase again lor???

please do privae estates too.

😤🤣🤣...... 😤

Edited May 13, 2020 by Playtime

[kobayashiGT]

1 minute ago, Playtime said:

entire level of parking gone.... season parking will increase again lor???

😤🤣🤣...... 😤

Are you staying at these estates?

[Playtime]

2 minutes ago, kobayashiGT said:

Are you staying at these estates?

nope.. mine is old estate... open cp only... already not enough lots

[Heartbreakid]

This is a great idea. I very much support farming. We have been urbanising and neglect our own food source, only rely on imports and small percentage of local food source. 

Hope after this covid19 crisis, our Gov will look more into expanding such urbanisation farming. We need to be independent on our own food source just like how we work on our own water source.

[kobayashiGT]

16 minutes ago, Playtime said:

nope.. mine is old estate... open cp only... already not enough lots

Haha. then no worries lah. Let those who are staying at that estate complaint. We eat popcorn can le. 🤣

[inlinesix]

Vertical farming relies on chemical fertilizers no diff from hydroponic 

[Google]

I still prefer soil based farming instead of hydroponics farming using chemical fertilizer. Imagine taking all synthetic chemical in your leafy diet. They may claim they keep fish... as part of the fertilizer. But different stage of the plant growth requires different fertilizer amount(N.P.K + micronutrients), so LL have to add chemical as the leafy plant will not turn up nice (brown tips, uneven colour), consumer will buy meh, therefore additional chemical is a must. Also such farming cannot be classified "organic" as long as it is soilless.  

Will such additional food production be healthy in the long run without causing problem to the body?  I hope the authority requires such food to be label as chemical or organic product mandatory, let consumer decide instead. Choose health or choose cost.

[kobayashiGT]

6 minutes ago, Google said:

I still prefer soil based farming instead of hydroponics farming using chemical fertilizer. Imagine taking all synthetic chemical in your leafy diet. They may claim they keep fish... as part of the fertilizer. But different stage of the plant growth requires different fertilizer amount(N.P.K + micronutrients), so LL have to add chemical as the leafy plant will not turn up nice (brown tips, uneven colour), consumer will buy meh, therefore additional chemical is a must. Also such farming cannot be classified "organic" as long as it is soilless.  

Will such additional food production be healthy in the long run without causing problem to the body?  I hope the authority requires such food to be label as chemical or organic product mandatory, let consumer decide instead. Choose health or choose cost.

Is that a "google-d" answer? hahahahhahahah. 🤣

[Acewin]

3 hours ago, kobayashiGT said:

They better barricade the entrance properly. Sure got goondu will try to park at the top floor. Then all the veggie will be gone!!!!

Need to create card access system for the lift to prevent any Tom dick or harry from accessing to cause sabotage and also the staircase access.

[Scion]

vertical integration

rooftop grow vege, straight away package and sell at the NTUC beside the MSCP

[Meanmachine]

Sorry to add, I saw more solar-panels planted on HDB roof top intend,maybe Urban farming is new toy by HDB council, next round, servers and satellites too

[Lala81]

15 hours ago, kobayashiGT said:

They better barricade the entrance properly. Sure got goondu will try to park at the top floor. Then all the veggie will be gone!!!!

The newer carparks are sometimes for roof garden. No access except via stairs and lift.

That's for my block carpark.

 

[Lala81]

12 hours ago, Google said:

I still prefer soil based farming instead of hydroponics farming using chemical fertilizer. Imagine taking all synthetic chemical in your leafy diet. They may claim they keep fish... as part of the fertilizer. But different stage of the plant growth requires different fertilizer amount(N.P.K + micronutrients), so LL have to add chemical as the leafy plant will not turn up nice (brown tips, uneven colour), consumer will buy meh, therefore additional chemical is a must. Also such farming cannot be classified "organic" as long as it is soilless.  

Will such additional food production be healthy in the long run without causing problem to the body?  I hope the authority requires such food to be label as chemical or organic product mandatory, let consumer decide instead. Choose health or choose cost.

unless u have large plot able to do sustainable farming, means letting the soil rest over a few months. Alternating between different plots of land. Actually commercial soil farming needs a lot of fertiliser also.

I was hearing that american farms the top soil is getting thinner and thinner.

 

[inlinesix]

2 minutes ago, Lala81 said:

unless u have large plot able to do sustainable farming, means letting the soil rest over a few months. Alternating between different plots of land. Actually commercial soil farming needs a lot of fertiliser also.

I was hearing that american farms the top soil is getting thinner and thinner.

The reason letting the soil rest is to allow soil microorganism to grow in the soil.  Without soil microorganism, fertilizer will be wasted.  In addition, water retention will be reduced substantially.