Exploring the future of urban agriculture in Singapore
How can Singapore – which imports 98% of its fresh produce – strengthen its food security? We brought together some of the finest minds from agriculture, industry and the built environment to discuss this situation for an ‘Arup Explores’ event.
Last updated: February 2023
It is estimated that 80% of all food will be consumed in cities by 2050, so future cities will be key players in the production and consumption of food. But how cities will manage the growing demand for food is as yet unclear.
How will Singapore fare? It has a high dependency on the global food network. Over 90% of its fresh produce is currently imported. It needs stronger food security.
We brought together some of the finest minds from agriculture, industry and the built environment to discuss Singapore’s situation for an ‘Arup Explores’ event. Part of a series led by our Foresight and Innovation team at Arup, these events are designed to grasp an early understanding of an emerging topic and find out what this may mean for our clients and our work.
We have pulled together the collective thoughts from that event into a report, available to read now.
We focused on four key themes:
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increasing urban food production
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rethinking the supply chain
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moving to sustainable consumption
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managing/eliminating food waste.
This was discussed within the context of Singapore’s ‘30 x 30’ goal to increase local food production from around 10% to 30% of its nutritional needs by 2030.
With the overlay of COVID-19, the ideas and conclusions within this report are more pertinent than ever.
There is no better time for the next wave of innovation in the development of alternative food production methods, sustainable supply chains, urban infrastructure optimisation and future-proofing, food security enhancement, communication and community outreach.
With the right combination of technology, policy and awareness, there is potential to deliver benefits to both Singapore and Southeast Asia while contributing to the fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
