How the world’s tallest vertical farm blossomed in highly urbanised Singapore
In land-scarce Singapore, where agriculture competes with housing and industry, a vertical farm rising storey by storey has become a test case for how food can be grown in one of the world’s most urbanised states.
Greenphyto, billed as the world’s tallest indoor vertical farm, relies on stacked growing systems, automation and artificial intelligence to produce vegetables at scale while using far less land than conventional farming.
Its development has been closely tied to Singapore’s push for digitalisation. The farm’s AI capabilities were built with support from the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Digital Leaders Programme, which also helped the firm hire data engineers and software developers.
Technology underpins much of the operation, from monitoring crop conditions to optimising energy consumption. Automation has reduced reliance on manpower, a critical advantage in a city where labour is costly and scarce.
Greenphyto has also been backed by the Singapore Food Agency’s Agri-food Cluster Transformation Fund, which supports local farms in adopting new technologies and raising productivity as part of national food security efforts.
Beyond production, demand remains a decisive issue. Drumming up interest in, and sales of, local produce is essential if urban farms are to thrive alongside cheaper imports.
As the company continues to scale up, managing costs will be critical.
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad said it was important for production costs to be controlled so vegetables remain affordable and comparable in price to imported alternatives.
Greenphyto is also positioning itself as a technology exporter. The company has set up offices in Malaysia and the Netherlands to sell its vertical farming system globally.
It is additionally exploring plans to export its vegetables to Malaysia, extending its commercial footprint beyond Singapore’s domestic market.
To broaden its reach further, Greenphyto is planning a technology spin-off, Arber.ai, which will offer consultancy services to help other farms and local small and medium-sized enterprises adopt digital solutions in their operations.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
