00:00What are you doing?
00:04Harvesting.
00:08So I think land is not the main issue.
00:10We need the companies, we need dreamers,
00:13and we need people that want to come and be farmers.
00:16The only challenge with that now is because they're not making money,
00:19they can't pay well.
00:20So until the unit economics work,
00:22then we'll get more people coming to work in the farms.
00:26In this series, we'll explore how innovative technologies
00:30and local initiatives are rethinking the way we produce and consume food.
00:36Welcome to Future Food, where we explore the food production of tomorrow.
00:42In this episode, we head to the heartland of Red Hill,
00:46where we meet people that are making impactful initiatives
00:50to help with food security and sustainability.
00:54Hi Zach, nice to meet you. My name is Yulin.
00:57So this is such an interesting concept, you repurpose old schools.
01:02So what gave you the idea to do that?
01:06Back in 2018, URA worked with SLA to look into redeveloping old schools,
01:13repurposing them instead of just tearing them down and building new condos.
01:18The interesting thing about this project was URA planned it to be an intergenerational project.
01:23So this entire space is one school.
01:25Oh, okay, I see.
01:26The teacher's office and the general office is actually the childcare.
01:31And where the classroom is, is actually the nursing home.
01:34And where we are at, where we have the hall, and we have the canteen,
01:38and we have the school fields, this is the urban farm.
01:42So Zach, can you tell me more about Siddhi Sprouts?
01:44How did it sprout up?
01:46Yeah, so we started in 2019,
01:48while we were teaching different kinds of workshops across the community.
01:53So we went to boutiques fair, we went to schools,
01:55we brought kids to the nurseries in the Kranji area.
01:59And when we first saw the tender in, I think it was early 2019,
02:04we decided to try for it.
02:06It was also extremely humbling building Siddhi Sprouts through COVID-19.
02:11But I feel seeds that can sprout during the tough seasons will last.
02:16Exactly, what a great metaphor.
02:19Sprouting the adversity, guys.
02:21So what are some of the primary goals of Siddhi Sprouts?
02:25So the primary goal of Siddhi Sprouts is to watch communities through shared discovery.
02:30That's one of the core purpose and vision of the company.
02:35So there's three key areas where we focus in,
02:37which is vulnerable youth, elderly, and people with disabilities.
02:42So Siddhi Sprouts really is not just an urban farm,
02:45it's a social enterprise that have different types of programmes,
02:49different types of events that bring people together.
02:51And some of these programmes and events are socially engineered
02:55to bring various groups of people together.
02:57And through the different bonds that we build during the programme itself,
03:01that's when you get a very strong and a tighter social compact within Singapore.
03:07Can you share some of the success stories of how Siddhi Sprouts has impacted the community?
03:12So when we first started in the old Henderson Secondary School,
03:15we had 31 community farmers.
03:18Fast forward to 2024, we have 153 community farmers.
03:23Big small, small plots, people that are just doing for hobby,
03:27coming on the evening, elderly, youth,
03:30and people who are trying to start their own agriculture business.
03:34So one of the core reasons why we started Siddhi Sprouts as well,
03:37we wanted to support people from the community that wanted to grow crops.
03:42So Siddhi Sprouts actually provide this small little space,
03:45you can trial it on a yearly basis.
03:47Once your minimum viable product is up,
03:50then you can scale up the business, you can get investors to have a look.
03:53And that's one of the success stories such as Tomato Town,
03:57and other success stories such as Mushroom Buddy,
04:00which is also a social enterprise that they support
04:03special needs individuals for mushroom harvesting
04:06because it's a repetitive process.
04:08So that's the kind of idea that we want to bridge
04:11and Siddhi Sprouts, we see ourselves as a community player
04:14where we bridge the corporates as well as the social,
04:18as well as individuals from the community.
04:20So what are some of your future plans to help with Singapore's
04:22food security and sustainability?
04:25So first up, we launched the fifth space in Singapore,
04:29so that's Bidah City.
04:31The focus is really to build more companies,
04:34more startups at an early stage.
04:36We'll invite them there to do prototyping,
04:39micro factory, produce different types of vegetables and food
04:43at Bidah City.
04:44While Siddhi Sprouts' importance is really to still capacity build
04:48at a community level,
04:50to allow people to understand what's going on in the market,
04:53what are some new products,
04:54some new ideas that people have came up with,
04:57what are some new farmers that came into the market,
04:59then we'll introduce them during our signature Farmers' Market.
05:03Farmers' Market in Singapore,
05:05I think that's probably the first I've heard actually.
05:07I mean, I used to live overseas in the UK or in Australia,
05:10and it's so common over there to hear of Farmers' Market,
05:12fresh produce, fresh cheese at Farmers' Market, right?
05:15But in Singapore, I mean, this is honestly the first I've heard.
05:18Yeah, it's true, it's true.
05:19I mean, the tough part about organising a Farmers' Market
05:22is not in doing the market.
05:25The tough part is, where are the farmers?
05:27So that's something that why we developed Bidah City,
05:31we want to encourage more farmers,
05:33and Siddhi Sprouts, at the core of it,
05:35is also to encourage more farmers.
05:37So that's the dream that we have for Singapore,
05:39and we believe that Singapore will be self-sufficient.
05:42It's just a matter of how we get there.
05:44Really see how the government is shifting everything
05:46so that we are becoming more and more self-reliant.
05:50Yeah, it really takes action from the ground
05:53because SFA is launching their big-scale mega-plan
05:57for Sungai Tengah area of farming,
06:00and I think they are spending the capital
06:03to set up some of these farms for investment
06:06and companies to come in and set up their farms.
06:09So I think land is not the main issue.
06:12We need the companies, we need dreamers,
06:15and we need people that want to come and be farmers.
06:18Hopefully, whatever Siddhi Sprouts is doing,
06:21or Bidah City is doing,
06:22we can inspire a few along the way,
06:24and people will come into the sector.
06:27They'll see it as something that's important for the country,
06:30they'll see it as an alternative kind of business,
06:32not just the typical start-up
06:35that Singapore usually churns out.
06:37Sprouting some inspiration there.
06:39Well, thanks, Zach, for your very insightful
06:41and candid sharing of how Siddhi Sprouts sprouted,
06:45and you're definitely inspiring, I believe,
06:48the next generation of farmers, young people.
06:50So, thanks very much for your time.
06:52Thank you so much, thank you so much.
06:53To learn more about urban farms,
06:56I head to West Coast to speak to the managing partner
06:59of Greenbridge Partners.
07:00So Kelvin, how has urban farming evolved in Singapore
07:04over the last few years?
07:05I think we started with growing herbs in our gardens,
07:09and then we started looking at vertical farms,
07:11not just for vegetables,
07:13but also things like fruits, strawberries, and so on.
07:17If you look at some of our farms,
07:18they're very, very high-tech.
07:20The only challenge with that now
07:21is because they're not making money,
07:23they can't pay well.
07:25So it's not attracting a lot of people
07:28like maybe the tech sector is,
07:31or the finance sector is,
07:32because end of day,
07:34whether you have paid good money for that job.
07:37So until the unit economics work
07:39and these agri-tech companies start making good money,
07:44I'm sure they will pay the employees well,
07:47and then we'll get more people coming to work in the farms.
07:50To find out more about how the urban farm
07:52can exist in the city,
07:54I speak to the co-founder of Tomato Town.
07:58Hi Webster, I'm Yulin, nice to meet you.
08:00Hi Yulin, nice to meet you.
08:01Thanks for inviting us to your town, Tomato Town, right?
08:05Yes, that's right.
08:06Tomato, tomato, you say tomato, I say...
08:08Tomato.
08:09Exactly.
08:10But I don't see any tomatoes.
08:11It's not tomato season.
08:14Yes, it's not tomato season.
08:16We normally grow tomato towards the end of the year.
08:19Okay.
08:19So currently it's a bit too hot,
08:20so we don't really grow it right now.
08:22So over here, we actually grow mainly basil and kale,
08:25and then we just supply it to supermarkets.
08:28Oh lovely, it sounds very Italian and it's kind of...
08:31Well, I mean, tomato, kale, basil...
08:33It's very sharp-eyed you have.
08:34Yeah, I see.
08:35Typically Italian kale.
08:36Maybe we can do some cooking later.
08:37Maybe, maybe, maybe.
08:41So how does Tomato Town work?
08:43So basically we bid for HDB Car Park's rooftops
08:46to actually set up our aeroponics system.
08:49The roots will be hanging,
08:51and most of the watering is done through a shower head
08:53at the top of our pipes.
08:55So what are the advantages of aeroponics farming
08:58compared to traditional farming methods?
09:00I think one of the advantages is we can actually
09:02really fully utilise spaces.
09:05Usual traditional farming will probably require
09:07soil length to actually grow on top of the car park.
09:10But for us, we actually don't require much soil,
09:12or we don't even use soil at all.
09:14So it actually helps to reduce pests.
09:17And more importantly, we actually recirculate our water.
09:20So how can you ensure that recycled water
09:23is good for the plants?
09:24Basically, our recycled water is laced with nutrients,
09:27and then we actually recycle it
09:29by collecting it back in the tank.
09:31So it's a closed-loop system
09:32in the whole entire aeroponics system.
09:34So there is no exposure to foreign objects
09:36and foreign methods.
09:37And moreover, every quarterly,
09:39we actually change out the water.
09:41So how long do these plants take to mature?
09:43The seed-to-seedling phase takes about two to three weeks.
09:47And then the seedling phase, when we put it outdoors,
09:50probably another two to three weeks
09:52for it to be fully mature.
09:54So the entire process will probably take about six weeks,
09:57which is about one and a half months each.
09:59So what are the commitments of urban farming?
10:01And what's a typical day like here on the farm?
10:03Definitely, we have to check in on the nutrients content
10:06and also the temperature of water
10:08to make sure that everything is within the range
10:11of our vegetable growing at a healthy level.
10:14With the farm-to-table concept,
10:15we normally harvest it in the morning
10:17and then we send it to restaurants
10:19as well as supermarkets in the afternoon.
10:23So when it gets to noon, whereby it's too hot,
10:25the plants actually produce some kind of chemical
10:27that makes it taste bitter.
10:30So we tend to actually do it in the morning
10:32and it's also much comfortable for everyone as well.
10:35That's really fresh.
10:36Yes, that's right.
10:37Can't imagine having like, you know,
10:39never would I have thought
10:40that you get all that freshness in Singapore
10:41in terms of farm-to-table.
10:43Yeah, you can chew off.
10:44So what is the most important value as an urban farmer?
10:49My thing is to be able to adapt
10:51as the farming industry, especially for urban farming,
10:53is pretty new in Singapore.
10:55So a lot of things we actually learn ourselves
10:57and we require a lot of trial and error.
11:00Even at the start,
11:01before we actually set up a commercial farm,
11:03we actually took the system,
11:06we took the technology to actually try out
11:07in a smaller plot in City Sprout.
11:10After learning how to actually grow,
11:13we have confidence in terms of the yield.
11:16Then we move out from City Sprout
11:17to actually bid for larger plots of land
11:19to actually start our commercial farm full-scale.
11:22I see, wow.
11:23How long did that take?
11:25Like, how many years was that process?
11:27So for us, it took almost over three years.
11:29Wow.
11:30Yeah, to go from a test plot at City Sprout
11:34to a full-scale commercial farm across Singapore.
11:37So what role do you think urban farming will play
11:40in Singapore's future food landscape?
11:43Urban farming in Singapore should be quite important
11:45considering the lack of space.
11:48Growing on rooftop actually make a lot of sense space-wise.
11:51And secondly, pest-wise,
11:53it's not as bad as growing it on the ground.
11:55So yeah, we don't really use pesticide
11:58or any preservative on our plants,
12:01which actually kind of give us the edge
12:02over other crops that's heavily laced
12:04with pesticide and preservative.
12:06Well, thanks very much, Bertster,
12:08for showing me around your lovely,
12:10rolling HDB slopes and jungle things
12:14and streams of water and pipes.
12:18They come close to the Italian rolling hills.
12:22And right now I'm sweating like a sun-dried tomato,
12:25if you can see.
12:26And I'm ready to harvest
12:29and make myself some refreshing salad
12:31that has no bitter aftertaste
12:33because it is not harvested in this very hot sun.
12:38We've gained valuable insights into the challenges
12:40and ongoing efforts to ensure a more food-secure
12:44and sustainable future for Singapore.
12:47By supporting initiatives like Tomato Town,
12:50we can collectively make a difference
12:52to our environment and food security,
12:54and maybe even try our hand at growing our own food.
12:59Thank you for joining me on this journey
13:01as we explore the future of food in Singapore.
13:04I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
13:06This is your host, Eulen, signing out.
13:10Thank you so much.
13:12I forgot your name.
13:13It's okay.
13:14Oh, I'm scared.
13:17It's the first time I've ever seen a chicken.
13:19You made it!
13:20You made it!
13:22How do you know?
13:25Oh my gosh.
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