Dutch firm’s vertical mega-farm to produce up to 500 tons of leafy greens in Singapore

Dutch agritech company, Growy, will be joining a number of international and local companies that have sunk their roots in land-scarce Singapore to research and develop vertical farming.

The firm said its vertical farm in Changi Logistics Centre, which starts production in the second half of the year, will be able to produce up to 500 tons of leafy greens annually, supporting Singapore’s '30 by 30' sustainable food security goal.

Growy plans to harvest a full range of produce including microgreens, baby leaf salad mixes and herbs in the 8,000m2 growth space.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 10 April with several leading institutions in the Netherlands and Singapore involved in R&D of vertical farming.

“The MOU builds a bridge between the Dutch renowned horticulture expertise and Singapore’s thriving food security R&D ecosystem," said Ard van de Kreeke, the Founder & Co-CEO of Growy. “Linking those two knowledge powerhouses will result in an acceleration of indoor vertical farming in Singapore and beyond”.

In 2019, Singapore launched its '30 by 30' initiative, which aims to have 30% of the country’s nutritional needs produced by the local agri-industry by 2030.

Vertical farming, which involves growing produce in stacked layers, plays a key role in meeting this goal. With less than 1% of its land available for farming, Singapore has been tapping technology to grow food in a climate resilient and efficient way. Apart from occupying less land space than traditional farms, vertical farms are able to produce crops year-round, due to the use of advanced technology to control all parameters of growth.

Local agri-tech start-up, Indoor Farm Factory Innovation, is able to produce 50 types of crops a year in its 3,530m2 vertical farm space in Tuas.

Another urban farm, GroGrace, is able to produce 33 tons of leafy greens annually in its 650m2 space in Jurong.

Growy’s farm in Changi is partially funded by the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) '30x30' Express grant.

Close to US$40 million in funding was awarded by the SFA to several companies in 2020 to support the growth of the local agri-food enterprises and accelerate local food production.

Growy, which also owns vertical farms in the Netherlands, Germany and Kuwait, said it chose Singapore as the location for their latest farm because of the support of local government agencies.