Cropping it UP!

Prepared for: Project Work 2010

Project Task 2 - Alternatives

Prepared by: !U Bhalraam

" Maureen Ng Jie Yi

" Ramakrishna S/O Jairam Bobb

" G Reuben Gangesh

" Gan Tze Ling

24th September 2010

Group Number : CJ127

Catholic Junior College - Project Work 2010 !

Uncommon Notations Used :

(A:Y) ! Refer to Annex Y

Table of Contents

I Introduction! 4

Why Farming? ! 4

Goals ! 5

II Case Study : Attaining Water Security! 6

The Problem! 6

Causes of the Problem! 6

Singapore’s approach! 8

Brainstorming! 8

Singapore’s Alternative Approaches ! 8

Recycling Water! 10

Roger’s Numerical Analysis ! 10

Advantages and Disadvantages of alternative approaches taken by Singapore! 11

Conclusion to our Case-Study! 11

III Alternatives to Farming Techniques! 12

Agricultural status in Singapore! 12

Our Aims and Propositions! 13

Decision! 15

IV The Genius of Vertical Farming! 16

Land is to crop growth ratio! 16

V Structure & Facilities! 18

Structure of our Vertical Farm! 18

Facilities ! 19

VI Marketing Strategies! 21

Tours ! 21

Shuttle Bus ! 22

Location! 23

Posters & Flyers ! 24

“ Cropping it Yourself ”! 25

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 2

Admission! 26

VII Finance! 27

VIII Potential Sponsors/Partners for our Project! 30

SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation for Growth)! 30

Environment & Water Industry (Development Council)! 30

IX Solutions to Anticipatory Problems in the Vertical Farm Prototype! 31

Competition from Local Producers ! 31

Variability of amount of sunlight available! 31

XI Bibliography! 33

Annex! 35

Annex 1 - Survey of the General Public! 35

Annex 2 - Excerpt of Interview with Ex-CEO of AVA Dr. Ngiam Tong Tau! 40

Annex 3 - Excerpt from Interview with Manda Foo from Bollywood Veggies Agricultural farm! 45

Annex 4 - Cost of Communal Land Usage for plots stated in Annex 4 ! 47

Annex 5 Table with all the community lots for consideration to build the farm! 48

Annex 6 - Singapore’s Agricultural Statistics by NationMaster™! 49

Annex 7 - Singapore’s Agricultural Statistics by AVA! 50

Annex 8 - Survey for Vertical Farming vs Sea Farming numerical analysis ! 51

Annex 9 - Vertical Farm model proposal! 55

Annex 10 - Modern irrigation methods implemented! 56

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 3

I Introduction

Why Farming?

Singapore is one of today’s most developed countries (United, 2009). Food security is

essential to ensure that Singapore has the vital edge in development (Maxwell, 1996),

therefore the government endeavours to ensure food security by importing food from other

countries, and other efforts such as the Jilin project (Ngiam, 2010). However, food security is

essential for self-sufficiency especially in emergency situations where food may be scarce.

Currently, self-sufficiency may seem ambitious considering that the land available for

agriculture is limited to about 1% of Singapore’s total land area (Alpha, 2010). Furthermore,

from 1970 to 2000, local food production plummeted from 85% to 7% (Ngiam, 2010),

increasing dependency on imports, whilst lowering self-sufficiency. Thus, to ensure self-

sufficiency, our project proposes to tackle the problem of land-shortage and achieve food

security, which will be presented systematically throughout the report.

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Goals

Our project aims to tackle the aforesaid problem, introducing modern alternative farming

techniques in Singapore (mainly hydroponics and aeroponics) (Manda, 2010). After evaluating

Sea-Farming and Vertical Farming, we discovered that Vertical Farming is more likely to

succeed. This is further elaborated upon below in “Alternatives to Farming

Techniques” (Section III).# Vertical Farming increases local food production without

compromising land intensive activities illustrated in “The Genius of Vertical Farming” (Section

IV). Our achievement of attaining water security in the early millennium has made us

optimistic that food security is within Singapore’s reach. Currently, the methods implemented

by Singapore include desalination, NEWater, water catchment areas, and importation of

water from Malaysia (PUB, 2009). By analysing the approach and methods successfully

implemented by Singapore, we are able to adopt and apply them in Vertical Farming, thus

enhancing the success of our project.

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If we fasten our attention on what we have, rather than on what we lack, a very little wealth is su!cient.

- Francis Johnson

I I Case Study : Attaining Water Security

The Problem

Singapore has been dependent on Malaysia for its water supply even before the British

pullout in 1965. Singapore imports more than 40% of its water needs from Malaysia (Lee,

2003). When Singapore's water contract with Malaysia expires in 2061 (Hoe, 2010), we will

be under immense pressure as the population’s survival is threatened. To ensure that

Singapore is well prepared for the cessation of Malaysia’s water supply, the government has

to source out different solutions before then. Dr. Lee Poh Onn, an economist and Fellow of

the ASEAN Economic Review, and author of numerous monographs including “The Water

Issue Between Singapore and Malaysia: No Solution in Sight?” points out that the reasons for

Singapore’s dependency have been reiterated below in point form. Singapore’s approaches

to the problem would be addressed under “Singapore’s Approach.”

Causes of the Problem

Lack of water sources

Dr. Lee’s report highlighted Singapore’s lack of water sources was a significant problem, as

the water catchment sites located across Singapore were the main sources of water. Our

study revealed that in 1965, Singapore had to depend on only 3 main reservoirs, mainly the

MacRitchie, Pierce and Seletar reservoirs.

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Cost of Treatment

Dr. Lee showed that Singapore had to invest heavily

in water treatment plants to achieve self-sufficiency.

Our study also revealed that because non-potable

water was polluted with industrial pollutants and

indiscriminate littering/dumping of refuse, rendering

the cost of treatment extremely high. (Figure 2.1) shows

the then polluted Singapore River.

Consumption/Wastage

Our study also showed that given the lack of water sources

in Singapore, wastage and inefficient use of water by the

public further compounded the problem, prompting the

government to introduce extensive media campaigns to

save and ration water. (Figure 2.2)

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Figure 2.1 Showing the level of pollution

of the Singapore River in the early 1980s

Figure 2.2 Example of the “extensive me-

dia campaign” implemented by the PUB

Singapore’s approach

Brainstorming

Singapore’s Alternative Approaches

Procedure of Singapore’s attempt to solve the problems stipulated in the previous section.

Lack of Water Sources

• Build more water catchment areas

• Improving collection of surface-runoff in existing catchment areas

• Rivers are dammed and turned into instant reservoirs e.g. (Punggol River, etc)

• The cheapest method of creating reservoirs was to dam them up as seen in (Figure 2.4)

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Figure 2.3 Showing the brainstorming done by Singapore in an effort to solve our water insecurity

Source : (Roger, 2006)

Figure 2.4 Serangoon and Punggol Rivers being damed as reported by

The Straits Times (The Straits Times, 2008)

Cost of Treatment

• Economic pursuits in other industries were used to generate sufficient profit for

development of technology to source out various water sources.

• As treatment costs for potable water depends on the level of pollutants found in the water,

the goal was to minimise pollutants reaching the water courses. The formation of Anti-

Littering Campaigns, fines and other enforcement actions against littering, and cleaning up

of all water courses including rivers helped meet that goal.

Consumption and Wastage

• The government introduced water tariff reform to encourage Singaporeans to use water

sustainably1. This reduces the demand for water as consumers will have to pay a tariff for

consuming more than the national average.

• Public education campaigns through media reiterated the message to conserve water2;

Moral Suasion has always been an option for governments, but is not vey effective as it is

voluntary and thus only the minority would take heed of such campaigns.

• Infrastructures were built for industries to use industrial grade water for industrial use, such

as toilet flushing systems, and air conditioning cooling towers. Non-potable water for use in

industries is very effective in reducing treatment cost for both provider and consumer.

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1 Imposition of water tariff, Water Conservation Tax (WCT), Water Borne Fee (WBF) and Sanitary Appliance Fee (SAF) (Torta-

jada, 2006).

2 e.g. using running water to wash cars was discouraged(PUB, 2008), in the early days water rationing was introduced and

the cost per cubic meter was increased.

Recycling Water

NEWater - Singapore’s approach to recycling water.

• Modern technologies such as reverse osmosis have been deployed to recycle drinking

water from waste water. Today NEWater comprises 30% of our water consumption by

2010 (PUB, 2008).

Roger’s Numerical Analysis

Roger, a then member of the Singapore Water Agency tackling the problem, in his analysis of

Singapore’s different approaches to solving their water problem, considered the significant

and insignificant factors, and weighted the data on a numerical basis, to offer the best

solution. His findings revealed that all the approaches that were considered were equally

significant and therefore recommended an adoption of all solutions.

As shown in (Table 2.5), the numerical figures indicate that all four methods were equally

feasible. All 4 methods were implemented to solve Singapore’s problem. However, Roger’s

method of analysis is not very reliable as would be discussed in the next section - “Our Aims

and Propositions”

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Cost Viability Efficiency Accessibility Maintenance Disadvantages TOTAL

Required -7 8 9 8 -3 -4 11

NEWater -8 8 10 9 -5 -2 12

Desalination -8 8 8 10 -5 -2 11

Purchase from

Malaysia

-5 8 10 8 0 -7 14

Water

Catchment

Areas

-1 8 7 9 -5 -7 11

Table 2.5 Showing the analysis of methods to be implemented in an effort to solve Singapore’s water insecurity

Advantages and Disadvantages of alternative approaches taken by Singapore

Conclusion to our Case-Study

From the above, together with technological advancements

and adoptions, Singapore has adopted all four(4) strategies to

diversify its water sources as a solution to water security.

(Figure 2.6) shows a graphical representation of the points) :-

1. Imported water from Johor (25%);

2. Desalinated water from the sea (15%);

3. Water from local catchment (30%);

4. NEWater (recycled water from local waste water) (30%).

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Source : (“Water & Waste Water”, 2007)

Figure 2.6 The constituents of our water supply

Solutions to water problem Advantages Disadvantages

NEWater sustainable, independent of weather, environmentally friendly, cleaner water

High cost of treatment;Not readily accepted by the public

Desalinated water Constant supply of water(Sin-gapore surrounded by sea); in-dependent of rainfall

Costly, high consumption of en-ergy, Chemicals used in the process poisons environment

Imported water Easy to obtain (No need to con-struct, maintain water sources)

High cost of treatment.Dependent on the country of importation.

Local water catchment simple mechanism, low cost Land intensive(2/3 of Singapore usable land is water catchment areas) (PUB, 2008)

Table 2.6 Advantages and disadvantages of approaches taken by Singapore

I I I Alternatives to Farming Techniques

Agricultural status in Singapore

As with the case of water, we now also import much of our food; an astounding 95%

(O’Brien, 2009). Since its founding, our vast lands were put to private agricultural use by in-

dividuals. With the advent of industrialisation and commercialisation of Singapore's economy,

we witnessed this agricultural use dwindling. Although we managed to house the population

in proper homes and built a viable economy, we have become dependent on imported food,

because we had to give up agricultural space for development. Thus, the development of

land has dwarfed agricultural production. Growing our own crops seems to be the best solu-

tion to alleviate this problem.

Brain-Storming

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 12Figure 3.1 Brainstorming performed by our group to match that was done as explained in the case study

Our Aims and Propositions

Solutions to our land scarcity are:- (1) large scale farming in Singapore either on the sea (Sea-

Farms), i.e. building closed cylindrical floating platforms harnessing sea space to our advan-

tage, or (2) the use of high-rise towers for farming to increase the crop to land ratio (Vertical

Farming). The use of both these methods can satisfy our objective of attaining self-sufficiency

3.

The lack of land space is negated when we consider farming on sea. However, given the

state of the technology and research at this present time, farming on sea appears to be a vi-

able, but distant, possibility. Sea-farms are exposed to the elements such as storms, making

them vulnerable to frequent damage. These, among other factors, may erode Government

support for sea-farming. On the other hand, the sky is the limit for vertical farms. Both these

alternatives solve the crucial problem of lack of land space.

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3 As mentioned previously in “I Introduction”

Adopting a similar approach to Roger’s system of weightage, we have also considered,

weighed, and tabulated, on a numerical basis, the feasibility of both Vertical Faming and Sea-

Farming (Table 3.2). Roger has clarified through emails that his figures were arbitrarily

selected, and therefore unsubstantiated. Avoiding Roger’s error of using arbitrary figures, we

conducted a survey(A:8) to ascertain the feasibility of Vertical Farming as opposed to Sea-

Farming. An indroduction inclusive with video links and websites to educate the surveyees

before they decide on their rating. the modal value for the survey was used in the table.

A practical approach would be to adopt Vertical Farming as it uses vertical space as opposed

to horizontal, limited, space. It produces approximately 20 times the normal production vol-

ume for field crops, and requires 5% less of the normal water requirements (Walsh, 2008).

The figures revealed by Valcent clearly suggest that Vertical Farming gives high yields with

minimal use of land (Walsh, 2008).

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Cost Viability Yield Accessibility Maintenance Disadvantages TOTAL

Required 1 -7 8 9 8 -3 -4 11

Vertical

Farming

-8 8 10 9 -5 -2 12

Sea-Farming -6 5 8 4 -3 -8 0

Table 3.2 Showing a numerical analysis between Sea-Farming and Vertical Farming

1The “Required” row is purely speculations made by our group necessary to be able to carry out a plan to solve the problem.

Decision

In the circumstances, we have therefore decided that farming “vertically” is the best alterna-

tive. Although Singapore executed 4 “taps” in their quest for water security, a 2-pronged ap-

proach of implementing both Vertical Farming and Sea Farming is not supported by our sur-

vey (Table 3.2). Hence, we decided to abandon the idea of Sea-Farming for the time being,

and focus on the more viable plan to build a prototype Vertical Farm; and highlight the impor-

tance of self-sufficiency, and kindle entrepreneurship in the business community.

Objectives for Vertical Farming

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Table 3.3 Objectives of Vertical Farming

Objectives

1 Propose an Educational version of a commercial vertical farm to both educate the public about

modern farming techniques and influence Singapore to adopt the idea for commercial use

as the general public’s views and opinions matter in big decisions planned by the government.

2 Provide better and more efficient alternatives to current farming methods in Singapore.

(Green Housing with Hydroponics and Aeroponics)

3 Ensure Singapore is self-reliant especially during crisis.

IV The Genius of Vertical Farming

Land is to crop growth ratio

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Area of Land used : 10,000 m3

Output : 7,300,000 lettuce heads annually

Area of Land used : 1,000 m3

Number of Stories : 10

Total Arable Area : 10,000 m3

Output : 7,300,000 lettuce heads annually

Figure 4.1 Illustrating the efficiency of Vertical Farming

Source for values stated : (Despommier, 2009)

Traditional Farming

Vertical Farming

Thus, this new idea, together with today’s modern farming techniques (hydroponics, aero-

ponics), which can increase plant growth density even further, is the key to improving land to

crop ratio. As observed in (Figure4.1), the same quantity of crops could be harvested in the

same time using a smaller base area in a Vertical Farm than a conventional farm.

With all these pros, a probable reason why the government hasn’t considered Vertical Farm-

ing is because the people are unaware of it (Figure 4.2). Thus, to educate the public, a work-

shop would be organised, as would be introduced later.

In the next section, we introduce a design of a Vertical Farm prototype, 10 storeys tall, incor-

porating various features such as research facilities, restaurants, market, hands-on opportuni-

ties for the public, and the use of modern technology.

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Figure 4.2 Survey on public’s awareness on Vertical Farming

V Structure & Facil it ies

Structure of our Vertical Farm

To better understand the mechanics and structure, we commissioned a design student from

Singapore Polytechnic to give us an impression of our idea and its structure.

Further elaboration would be found in the (Table 5.2) below.

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 18Figure 5.1 Showing an artist’s impression of our vertical farm

Level 1

• Reception

• Customer Service

• Restaurant

• Market

Level 1

• Exhibition Hall

• Auditorium

• Research Facilities

• Power Pellet Exhibition

Roof

Solar Panels

Level 6

Sky Garden

Levels 2-8

Main Farming Zone

• Arable Land : 43000m2

Levels 9 & 10

Main Farming Zone

Dedicated levels for the “Cropping it

yourself” scheme, Where visitors can

get to use and learn how to use high

tech farming equipmentLevel 9

• Sky Garden

• Visitor Lounge

Source : (Atiqah, 2010)

Solar Collectors1 for use to

provide light for photosynthesis

Pathways for the mobility of workers.

1 This would be further elaborated upon under the section “Solutions to Anticipatory Problems in the Vertical Farm Prototype”

FacilitiesThe details of the facilities at the vertical Farm are :-

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Structure & Facilities Reasons and Uses

Auditorium cum Exhibition Hall • Assembly & Briefing area for visitors to the farm

where they will be briefed on safety and restrictions

• Public education exhibits, Q&A, and general talks

!About Vertical Farming

!How the farm works

! Importance of Self-sufficiency

!safety and nutritional value of high-tech crops

Restaurant/Market • Where crops grown in the farm are served and sold

for consumption.

Research Facilities • Well equipped research laboratory.

• Partnerships with institutions for scientific research

in Vertical Farming

3 Public Viewing floors • Public viewing of the growth of temperate fruits and

vegetables

• “Crop it Yourself!” where the general public get

hands-on in high tech farming.

Transparent Elevators • To allow public viewing of restricted levels

Sky Garden / Visitor Lounge • Located on the 6th and 9th floors, the garden and

lounge offers visitors a place for rest and

recreation.

Solar Collectors • Strategically located at higher floors to capture and

direct the sunlight to the reach the crops1

Overall Structure • Octagonal - Ideal structure for maximum exposure

to sunlight

• Elongated East-West wing to capture rising and

setting sunlight

Table 5.2 Showing the possible structures and facilities to be incorporated into the farm

1 Crops require light for photosynthesis and hence, growth

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Figure 5.3 Our impression on the “Cropping it Yourself” floors

Figure 5.4 Floor plan of the “Cropping it Yourself” floors Figure 5.5 Floor plan of the main farming floors

VI Marketing Strategies

Tours

A reliable blog post revealed that younger Singaporeans are technology savvy (Techzav,

2008) and are amenable to alternative farming techniques. Tour guides trained in all aspects

of vertical farming would conduct organised guided tours(Table 6.1), and field various ques-

tions from visitors to encourage participation in tours and better understand the mechanics

and concepts behind vertical farming; thereby inculcating the importance of self sufficiency,

and support for our prototype.

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Table 6.1 showing guided-tour schedules

AM Session PM session Schedule

0900hrs 1500hrs Start of Tour - Observe Exhibition Hall

0945hrs 1545hrs Visit levels for public view and

introduce “Crop it Yourself” program.

1145hrs 1745hrs Lunch/Dinner at Restaurant

Shuttle Bus

Learning from Singapore Science Parks (SSP, 2010), free shuttle busses may ferry visitors to,

and from the farm, minimising travel time and maintaining customer satisfaction. Bus

frequency is increased on peak days to cater for additional visitors (Table 6.2).

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Table 6.2 showing shuttle bus schedules

Day First Bus Frequency

Monday to Friday 8:00 AM Every 30 mins

Saturday 8:00 AM Every 20 mins

Sunday/Public Holiday 8:00 AM Every 15 mins

Location

From Singapore Land Authority’s available community use sites (A:4) (SLA, 2010), we

decided to erect the Vertical Farm in the Jurong area, as the area will be commercially

remodelled (Rashiwala, 2008), and land is much cheaper, making project cost more feasible.

The Jurong East bus interchange and MRT Station makes it conveniently accessible to

visitors.

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Figure 6.3 Possible location for our vertical farm prototype Source : http://www.streetdirectory.com

Posters & Flyers

Posters and flyers help publicise our farm, reaching and attracting more visitors.

An appropriate logo identifies our cause and the Vertical Farm easily.

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Logo

Figure 6.4 Poster design to attract people to our farm

“ Cropping it Yourself ”

Being an interactive venue, this is a program to entice people to visit and to make return visits

to the farm. It allows actual hands-on planting sessions for the general public to grow their

own crops on two of our dedicated levels, allowing them to return regularly to check on the

status of their crop and take it home when it reaches maturity. A nominal fee of S$10 is levied

for the program. Subsequent admissions for visitors undergoing the programs would be free.

The program includes a Workshop, introducing high tech farming methods, and theory and

techniques of seed planting for proper growth. This workshop would also educate the public

on the importance of vegetable consumption, as our survey (A:1) reveals an ignorance in the

aspect of nutrition and balanced diet(A:1).

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Figure 6.5 Flyer design to attract people to our farm

Admission

Prices are determined by adopting the prices of various learning centres (Singapore Science

Centre) which charges admission to students, adults and senior citizens at $5, $9 and $6

respectively(SSC, 2009). Prices are subsidised for financially dependent people so they are

able to afford entry.

Academic Institutions4 and Organised group packages (inclusive of a free meal)

Priced at S$6 S$6 S$7 for Students, Adults and Senior Citizens respectively.

The Organised Group Package is ideal as a tool to entice schools organising excursions to

the vertical farm as prices appeal more towards schools. Educating the youth at a very young

age leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the future generations, so that Vertical

Farming may be the way of life for time immemorial.

Estimated Revenue per annum : S$793,875

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4 Primary/Secondary/Junior College/Polytechnic/Institute of Technical Education

Table 6.6 Possible admission fees for the vertical farm prototype

Students/Children Adults Senior Citizens

Admission for “free & easy”

visitsS$3 S$6 S$3

Admission for tour guided

visitsS$6 S$9 S$6

Student/Children Adults Senior Citizens

Estimated number of visits

daily

225 225 50

Daily Revenue 675 1350 150

Annual Revenue 246,375 492,750 54,750

Table 6.7 Total Revenue from admission fees

VII Finance5

Financial success is the backbone of most communal ventures, and is a crucial consideration

before implementation. Success or failure is determined by whether the venture can sustain

itself financially. A detailed financial analysis of the project is therefore set out below.

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5 (Figures are derived from a basic cost estimate provided by Columbia University. Numbers shown are proportionately

scaled down for our project.)

Structural Parameters Cost

Sub-structure and electrochromic glass shell SGD$11,000,000

1000 ton Geothermal HVAC

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

SGD$1,650,000

400 ton chiller + cooling tower SGD$1,320,000

Biogas to fuel cell cogeneration facility SGD$2,500,000

800 kWh/day tracking photovoltaic array SGD$1,100,000

4,500 kW water-cooled lighting system SGD$1,400,000

Energy infrastructure and automation systems SGD$20,000,000

Living machine-based water recycling system SGD$1,325,000

Floating garden hydroponic system SGD$314,000

Office and laboratory facilities SGD$2,000,000

Land Cost (SLA, 2010) SGD$75,000,000

Total Costs SGD$117,609,000

Source : (Baumgartner, 2006)Table 7.1 Building cost for proposed Vertical Farm prototype

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Periodical Expenses Cost/annum

Total Electricity Costs @ 95% Biogas reliability SGD$85,000

Total Electricity Costs @ 5% Extreme Climate Conditions SGD$70,000

Production Supplies SGD$360,000

Modified Atmosphere Packaging SGD$260,000

Biogas + Living Machine Operational Costs SGD$325,000

Building and Facilities Maintenance (0.75% per annum) SGD$ 350,000

Office Operational Costs SGD$120,000

Total Costs SGD$1,570,000

Source : (Baumgartner, 2006)Table 7.2 Possible periodical cost for proposed Vertical Farm

Job Description Quantity Wage Annual Wage

Chief Executive Officer 1 SGD$150,000 SGD$150,000

Executive Officer 3 SGD$75,000 SGD$225,000

Laborers 25 SGD$10.00 / hour SGD$1,080,000

Engineers 1 SGD$80,000 SGD$80,000

Skilled Engineering Staff 3 SGD$60,000 SGD$180,000

Trained Tour Guides 5 SGD$30,000 SGD$150,000

TOTAL 38 SGD$1,865,000

Table 7.3 Possible jobs and wages for the Vertical Farm Prototype

Profit Factors Revenue

250 heads of lettuce/m2 per year 1

43000m2 of arable land

SGD$1.95 per lettuce head

SGD$20,962,500/year

Restaurant SGD$1,500,000/year

Admission Fees + Profit from “Crop it Yourself” Scheme SGD$800,875/year

TOTAL SGD$23,263,375/year

Table 7.4 Gross Total Revenue1High crop yield is due to multiple harvests/year

The initial structural cost is S$117,609,000 (Table 7.1). The Annual Periodical Expense and

labour cost is S$3,435,000 [S$1,865,000 (Table 7.3) + S$1,570,000 (Table 7.2)]. The annual

estimated gross revenue is S$23,263,375 (Table 7.4). From the figures, we can achieve an

annual net profit of S$19,828,375 (Figure 7.5) [S$23,263,375 - S$3,435,000]. At this rate, we

will break even in 6 years. ($117,609,000/$19,828,375 = 6 years). This proves its success.

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Figure 7.5 showing profit loss analysis

VII I Potential Sponsors/Partners for our Project

SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation for Growth)

Help for new and emerging enterprises in Singapore is readily available from SPRING

Singapore, a statutory board, responsible for helping Singapore enterprises grow. They help

enterprises by financing development, technology and innovation. As they are willing to

finance technology and innovation, we are inclined to believe that the SPRING foundation

would be interested in funding our project.

Environment & Water Industry (Development Council)

The Environment & Water Industry (EWI) provides overall direction and coordination of efforts

in developing and growing the water and environment industry in Singapore. EWI provides

two critical ingredients - a financial incentive, as well as mentoring and guidance by special-

ists. We are confident that the Vertical Farm project, being a national, pubic project, is worthy

of sponsorship by EWI.

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IX Solutions to Anticipatory Problems in the Vertical Farm Prototype

Competition from Local Producers

The success of the entire scheme will be greatly dependant on the marketability of the

produce from the Vertical Farm. Competition from local producers and/or imported produce

will be a factor affecting the financial viability of the project.

Effective ways to overcome such competition in Vertical Farming are to have economies of

scale, elimination of rejected crops, and the palatability of the produce. These factors may

help to bring cheaper and better tasting produce to the public.

Variability of amount of sunlight available

The project employs “Hybrid Solar Lighting” to infuse sunlight into the building. Roof mounted

‘solar collectors’ filter infrared light, transmitting visible light through bundles of optical fibres

to the crops. The Hybrid Solar Lighting system which merely redirects sunlight, is advantages

as electrical consumption can be reduced. During low light conditions, energy efficient

fluorescent lights and special grow lamps illuminate the building. Therefore there is security as

crops are not weather dependant and can be grown all year round.

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X Conclusion

The food security issue is real; it is a threat to national security and should be addressed

at a national level with government support to help increase local food production. Given

the serious land constraints in Singapore, Vertical Farming seems to be the optimal solu-

tion available given the current state of technology.

Although our Vertical Farm is an educational model, we hope the government taps the

true potential of this project, as how the people express (Figure 10.1), to alleviate the na-

tion’s serious over-dependence on imported food, and simultaneously, educating the

public in alternative farming techniques.

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Figure 10.1 Public’s opinion on Vertical Farming Revenue

XI Bibliography

I Introduction

O’Brien, MOB, (2009). Vested interests to blame for reliance on imported food. The Japan Times, Retrieved from: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090623hn.html

Walsh, BW. (2008). Vertical farming. TIME, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1865974,00.html

United, UNDP. (2009). Human Development Report 2009 - Singapore. Human development report. Retrieved (2010, July 26) from http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SGP.htmAlpha, WA. (2009). Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Singapore

Maxwell, SM. (1996). Food Security : a post modern perspective. Pergamon. Retrieved (2010, September 15) from http://113.212.161.150/elibrary/Library/Food/Maxwell_Food.pdf

II Case Study: Solving Singapore’s Water Security

Morris, SM. (2006). Singapore's quest for water self-reliance. Retrieved from http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/singapore.htm

Water & wastewater treatment plants. (2007, August 13). Retrieved from http://www.watertreatment.com.cn/plants/list/Singapore.htm

Tortajada , CT. (2006). Water Management in Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Retrieved (2010, August 8) from http://www.atl.org.mx/aguadf/images/docs/5%20wm-mexico-city.pdf

Lee, LPO. (2003). The Water Issue Between Singapore and Malaysia: No Solution in Sight?. Retrieved (2010, August 8) from http://www.iseas.edu.sg/ef12003.pdf

Roger, AKR. (2006). Singapore's freedom. Singapore

Hoe, HYN. (2010). PUB unveils Singapore's water strategy for next 50 years. Channel news asia. Retrieved (2010, Septem-ber 15) from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1066282/1/.html

World Bank, (2006). Dealing with Water Scarcity in Singapore. Retrieved (2010, August 8) from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT/Resources/WRM_Singapore_experience_EN.pdf

IV The Genius of Vertical FarmingBhaskar, DB, Yeap, VY, Lim, JEL, Low, RL, & Glascow, NG. (2009). (2009). Cream of the Crop. Singpore

V Structure & Facilities

Singapore Science Park, SSP. (2010, April 18).Singapore Science Park. Retrieved from http://www.sciencepark.com.sg/home/index.asp

Rashiwala, KR. (2008, April 5). The West also rises with jurong east makeover. Retrieved from http://libguides.nl.sg/content.php?pid=81668&sid=611264

Atiqah, (2010, August 15). [Commissioned for an artist’s impression].

VI Marketing Strategies

Singapore Science Center, SSC. (2009). Visitor info : admission charges. Retrieved from http://www.science.edu.sg/ssc/visit.jsp?type=13&root=0&parent=0&cat=210

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 33

Techzav, Initials. (2008). Here's how it savvy a singapore school is. Education Now, Retrieved from http://tucksoon.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/heres-how-it-savvy-a-singapore-school-is/

VII Finance

Baumgartner (2006). The Vertical Farm Entrepreneurship. Retrieved (2010, August 20) from http://www.verticalfarm.com/PDF/report2006/Economic%20Considerations.pdf

VIII Potential Sponsors/Partners for our Project

Spring, (2010, July 9). Spring singapore. Retrieved from http://www.spring.gov.sg/aboutus/pages/spring-singapore.aspxEnvironment and water research programme. (2010, March 17). Retrieved from http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/ContentsEWI.aspx?ContId=434

Encourage early adoption of technologies#. (2010, March 17). Retrieved from http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/ContentsEWI.aspx?ContId=985

Bringing new technologies to the market#. (2010, March 17). Retrieved from http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/ContentsEWI.aspx?ContId=986

MISCELLANEOUS

Google, SketchUp 7 [Architecture Software].

Manda, MF. [Personal Interview.], September 8 2010

Dr. Ngiam Tong Tau Ex-CEO of AVA [Personal Interview],

NationMaster.com, Singapore statistics, Retrieved fromhttp://www.nationmaster.com/country/sn-singapore/agr-agriculture

PUB, Initials. (2008). Pub. Retrieved from http://www.pub.gov.sg

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Annex

Annex 1 - Survey of the General Public

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If No,

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9. How successful do you think vertical farming will be in Singa-

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Annex 2 - Excerpt of Interview with Ex-CEO of AVA Dr. Ngiam Tong Tau

Purpose1. Find out what types of crops to cultivate which are easy to grow .2. Assess whether this project is feasible 2. Get expertʼs advise and guidance to fine tune the project.3. Expertʼs comments on the degree of success of the project4. Find out which location(s) is(are) the most suitable for Vertical Farming.5. To find out if an expert like him believes that our project can be considered for large

scale uses 6. He, being an expert in his field, and also previously being a person who was actively

involved in the AVA policy making hierarchy, he may still have significant influence over the political leadership, to convince them to put their weight behind, and financially sup-port this proposed project.

7. We also hope to try to convince the expert that perhaps vertical farming may be more economically viable than the Jilin Project. and can possibly save money for the country

8. To tap the expertʼs vast experience in the pitfalls/advantages of farming in general.9. To discover other aspects of farming which we may not have considered.

Bhalraam :

Our whole project is based on Dr Dickson’s idea of vertical farming which he planned in America. We think that it is difficult to plan in Singapore because of the small area and land boundaries. Since Singapore is try-ing to increase local food production, we think that vertical farming is feasible. Our plan of the vertical farm-ing is 9 stories high with base area of 10000 metres square and this will theoretically produce 7.3 million of lettuce. We intend to turn it into an exhibition too. So I would like to ask you what is your overall impression on our project?

Dr. Ngiam:

I think there will be technical problem of growing the crops and there will be a problem of getting sunlight into the building where the crops need certain hours of sunlight. Technically you can solve it by using the optical fiber cable but that will cost a lot of money.

Bhalraam:

We have came up with a sum of money for the vertical farming which I will let you have a look later. Rama has some research on the optical fiber so he can tell you more about it.

Cropping it UP! - Written Report! 40

Dr. Ngiam:

The other thing is that water supply for the vertical farming is also very important as there may not be any water area or connection to supply water and it will be very expensive. Soil is not a problem as there are many kinds of soil you can use whether it is on land or multi-storey. Soil is the same. The logistic of the har-vesting has to be designed such that you can harvest the crops easily if not you have to get a lot of people to harvest the crop.

Bhalraam:

What kind of crops do you think we can grow?

Dr. Ngiam:

Since it is a high cost production system, therefore you need to go for a very high value vegetables crops. If you are going for lettuce, that is alright. Like the aeroponics and hydroponics, it must be light weight so that the structure of the vertical farming will have the strength to hold these things. So there will be a high cost on the structure. If you want to spend less on the structure, you have to make it very light for the structure to hold. To turn it into an exhibition or demonstration in the future where there is no land to farm, people have to pay more for their food. But as a commercial competition, it will be hard to make it into a business as your products have to compete with people who grow their crops on soil as soil is very cheap as compared to ver-tical farming. Singapore’s land is more expensive than Malaysia’s land. Even so, it is cheaper in cost produc-tivity. Technically anything can be solved as it is all depending on the economy.

Bhalraam:

For the vertical farm, ours is the smaller diameter so do we need to consider the optical fiber technology or do we just use glass?

Dr. Ngiam:

Yes, I think for the light, whatever it is, as Singapore is not blessed with sunlight so if there is a roof, the crops below will be blocked from the sunlight.

Bhalraam:

Ok so do you think it is feasible for partial use of optical fibers?

Dr. Ngiam:

Yes I think you should be thinking of using optical fibers although it is of high cost. I have seen factories in Japan doing that. It is better to bring in the natural sunlight which is free rather than artificial sunlight. If not, the operating cost per day will be very high just to run those lights.

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Rama :

Regarding the optical fibers, the idea is to join it with lighting fluorescent lamp and it will be controlled by a monitored computer system with the amount of sunlight depending on the sunlight conditions. Since the op-tical fibers are only efficient up to 50 feets it will only benefit the top two floors. Due to that constraint, I was thinking of putting them outside the building at each level so that the light will come in horizontally.

Dr Nigam:

Ok, good. But how do you bring the light in?

Rama:

On the roof there is a solar connector receiver.

Dr. Ngiam:

Ok, but you must always remember that plants do not need light all the time, only at certain time. You must make sure about the wavelength of light needed for photosynthesis. It is good to follow the hydroponics and aeroponics system, with 1 crop every 2 months which is 6 crops per annual. If you are growing the temperate crops, you have to cool the water first before supplying it to the crops. You should visit any of the vegetables farms in Singapore to know more about the farming system. Architects are needed to design the building of the vertical farm, engineers to engineer the farm and lastly economist to advise you on what kind of crops to grow at different time.That is how commercial companies do it. The only challenges you will face it how to get sufficient sunlight into the building and the cost of it. You must know your operational cost and the out-puts for the vertical farm. The cost of infrastructure in Singapore is very high as the government wants to make sure that the structure of the building is safe for the people. Scientifically you can do it but commer-cially, there are many challenges you will face.

Bhalraam:

Ok we will take note of that. We also did a survey, tze ling will tell you more about it.

Tze Ling:

Many of the people feel that eating Genetically Modified food is unhealthy. So do you have any comments on why people refused to eat GM food despite it being more valued ?

Dr. Ngiam:

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It is not that GM food is more valued, it is just that they have not came up with a greater value of GM food and it is cheaper since GM crops are better controlled as they are pest resistance. So chemicals such as pesti-cides are not needed.

Tze Ling:

It the crops are grown in a building, do we still need pesticides?

Dr. Ngiam:

There is no need for pesticides if you manage and monitor the crops well.

Bhalraam:

What about those giant oranges? People feel that it is not safe to eat.

Dr. Ngiam:

People do not know GM food well, so naturally they will think that it is not safe to eat. Only the GM food that are tested several times are safe to consume. The good thing about GM food is that they put in things that are good for our health like nutrients and vitamin A.

Bhalraam:

Do you think we should educate the public about GM food?

Dr. Ngiam:

There is actually a website to know all about GM food. Not everyone knows biology so it will be difficult for them to understand about GM food and that is the barrier. So they need the assurance from the authority like the AVA to tell them whether it is safe to consume GM food I order for them to trust GM food. What is the significant finding in the survey?

Tze Ling:

Yes, we found out that many younger people feel that vegetables do not play an important role in their diet. So should we educate them?

Dr. Ngiam:

Yes, in fact the ministry of health has been doing that.

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Tze ling:

In this survey, people feel that vertical farming has the chance to succeed. So do you think with the support from these people, the government will see it as an option?

Dr. Ngiam:

Yes, the government will see it as an option but the problem with the government is that there is a lack of private sector. If it is commercially viable they will do it. To turn vertical farming into a business, private sector is needed as government will not give subsidies for food. In other countries farmers are protected un-like Singapore. If vertical farming is economically viable, the private sector will take this idea. For farming, the returns are slow but it has consistent returns. Singapore is not an agriculture country, so we do not have farming background and we need to compete with other agriculture countries with experienced farmers.

Bhalraam:

Which organizations do you think will potentially sponsor us in our project?

Dr. Ngiam:

You can go to the AVA food fund or economic develop board as they like innovative ideas.

Bhalraam:

Why you chose to farm in jilin?

Dr. Ngiam:

Jinlin has fertile lands which made it very suitable to grow crops. As it has a temperate climate, the crops are harvested once very season. The productivity is very high which is due to the fertility of the land.

Bhalraam:

Which parts of Singapore do you think we can build vertical farming?

Dr. Ngiam:

You can actually build it at the parks in Singapore, for example the National park. In this way, it will attract more people to go to the park since they are able to buy fresh vegetables home to cook and this is a healthy lifestyle. Basically, farming industry is no different from any other industries. It will be good if you can lower the cost of production which is almost the same as the cost of production in china so as to remain

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competitive. The cost of production in china is very low. You have to understand, in just 30 years, Singa-pore’s Local food production dropped from 95% to 7%.

Bhalraam:

Ok, that’s about it. Thank you for your time.

Annex 3 - Excerpt from Interview with Manda Foo from Bollywood Veggies Agricul-tural farmWe felt that an interview with the founder of Bollywood Veggies, Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim would give us good insight as her farm is also a bistro (having both a restaurant and well as a farm) which is implemented in our vertical farm idea. Their farm is also a show farm to show different kind of fruits and vegetables that can be grown in Singa-pore. Upon extensive sourcing and research, we found that Mrs Singh’s farm was the best place to inquire on some pressing questions on the vertical farm. Unfortuntely, we were only able to sit in with Ms Manda Foo who, as she says in the transcript, can be considered as a ‘scribe’ for Mrs Ivy. Thus we were more than satisfied to have her views.

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Annex 4 - Cost of Communal Land Usage for plots stated in Annex 4

First 10,000sqm or part there of SGD$ 27.50

Additional Area above 10,000sqm SGD$22.00

(SLA, 2010)

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Annex 5Table with all the community lots for consideration to build the farm

DATABASE FOR THE COMMUNITY USE SITESDATABASE FOR THE COMMUNITY USE SITESDATABASE FOR THE COMMUNITY USE SITES

S/NO

LOCATION Area (sq m)

JURONG WEST STREET 76 (NEXT TO S'PORE SOKA CULTURE CENTRE)5000JURONG WEST ST 76/JURONG AVE 4 (JUNCTION)1373WESTWOOD AVE (NEXT TO FLORAVALE CONDO)4737SPRINGSIDE ROAD / JALAN SELETAR ULU 7550JLN BUKIT MERAH (NEXT TO THAI TEMPLE) 2000MARGARET DR (INFRONT BLK 96) 23000QUEENSWAY (JUNCTION OF QUEENSWAY/QUEENS CRESCENT 6224STRATHMORE AVE (NEXT TO QUEESTOWN NPC) 5018CLEMENTI AVE 2 (NEXT TO BLK 361) 1016WEST COAST RD (NEXT TO BLK 501) 2654WEST COAST HIGHWAY (NEXT OT BLK 520) 1907JURONG WEST ST 61/63 17920

JURONG WEST ST 62 (NEXT TO BLK 621) 2006JURONG WEST ST 61 (NEXT TO BLK 624) 3386JLN LEMPENG (JUNCTION OF LEMPENG & FABER DR) 1352JURONG EAST AVE 1 (BETWEEN BLK 246 & TEMPLE) 1986YUNG AN RD (BESIDE MOSQUE) 24000JURONG WEST ST 52 (INFRONT BLK 518A JURONG WEST BO OPP RULANG PR SCH) 3088CORPORATION RD (INFRONT BLK 530) 3979JURONG WEST ST 42 (INFRONT BLK 447 & NEXT TO HUA YI SEC SCH) 1783JURONG WEST AVE 1 (NEXT TO BLK 538 & JURONG JC) 5330JURONG WEST ST 71 (BETWEEN BLK 712 &717) 4000JURONG WEST ST 91 (BETWEEN BLK 908 & 909) 2216JURONG WEST ST 25 (BESIDE WESTWOOD SEC SCH) 60000JURONG EAST ST 21 (INFRONT BLK 201) 15300

WELLINGTON CIRCLE (BESIDE BLK 509B) 70784JLN EUNOS (NEXT TO DARUL AMAN) 6169

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Annex 6 - Singapore’s Agricultural Statistics by NationMaster™

Agricultural growth 32

Agricultural land > % of land area 1.16 % of land area

Agricultural land > sq. km 8 sq. km

Agricultural machinery > tractors 65

Arable and permanent cropland 1 thousand hectares

Arable land > % of land area 0.87 % of land area

Arable land > hectares 600 hectares

Cereal production 32 thousand metric tons

Cotton exports 55 thousand bales

Cotton production 0

Crop production index 100 %

Food production index 70.2 %

Labor share 0.1%

Livestock production index 73.9 %

Meat production 151 thousand metric tons

Tractor concentration 65

Tractors 65

value added > annual % growth -2.53 %

Workers per hectare 3

Retrieved from : http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/agr_cer_pro-agriculture-cereal-production

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Annex 7 - Singapore’s Agricultural Statistics by AVA

It is observable that there is a decreasing amount of land being used for farming throughout the decade

Farms and farming area

Farms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaFarms and Farming AreaYear 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Licensed Farms (no.s)

386 366 344 325 277 263 268 267 266 256 264 248 248

Farming Area (ha) 1073 1043 985 937 875 807 815 806 769 746 764 738 734

Per capita consumption

The Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables per Capita as of 2009 is 152.9kg

Per Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionPer Capita ConsumptionItem 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Chicken (kg) 33.5 31.4 38.4 36.9 34.7 35.8 38.0 31.8 32.3 29.2 33.0 32.7 31.6

Pork (kg) 23.8 22.7 *15.2

18.0 17.3 18.1 20.1 20.8 19.3 20.1 20.6 19.2 19.1

Beef (kg) 3.5 2.9 3.7 3.4 3.3 3.7 4.7 4.3 3.7 3.8 4.3 4.0 4.0

Duck (kg) 3.3 2.9 3.7 3.3 2.8 4.0 3.8 2.6 3.5 2.9 3.2 3.1 2.7

Mutton (kg) 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1

Fish (kg) 27.4 25.3 25.3 24.3 23.3 23.9 23.4 23.0 21.2 20.8 19.5 17.4 16.4

Vegetables (kg) 71.7 75.8 79.4 79.9 82.3 83.6 84.8 85.5 84.1 84.2 83.8 82.6 83.8

Fruits (kg) 82.5 80.3 88.6 84.2 81.8 86.8 83.7 80.9 79.3 75.6 72.3 70.0 69.1

Hen eggs (pcs) 278 272 280 272 277 282 308 268 285 291 302 300 300

- AVA, June 2010

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Annex 8 - Survey for Vertical Farming vs Sea Farming numerical analysis

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Annex 9 - Vertical Farm model proposal

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Annex 10 - Modern irrigation methods implemented

Modern irrigation methods implemented

Our case study reveals that high water consumption due to wastage was a catalyst driving

the need to find solutions for water scarcity. Similarly, the lack of land space drove us to think

unconventionally and find ingenious technological solutions to self-sufficiency in the field of

agriculture (Table).

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Table : Benefits of Hydroponics and Aeroponics

Technology Benefits

Hydroponics

The growing of crops by using

nutrient solution instead of soil

• Labour cost for manual irrigation is minimised

• Water is conserved, saving more money

• Pests and diseases are eradicated due to the controlled

environment

Aeroponics

The growing of crops by

suspending roots in the air and

having a machine to spray

nutrient water periodically on the

roots

• Labour cost for manual irrigation is minimised

• Plants develop faster as roots are subjected to clean air

• Much less water is used

• ‘Crop to Area’ ratio is increased as more crops can be grown in a

lesser area.