Hybrid Advanced Research Vertical-Farming Environment Systems and Technology (HARVEST)

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of global food supply chains. Countries urgently seek a healthy, base level of food security and self-sufficiency at a time when agricultural land is depleted, the population is growing, and climate-related weather events are increasing. As a result, new, dynamic and groundbreaking collaborative solutions are required on a global level. This is not a single-nation issue.

In the UK, self-sufficiency is at around 50% for fresh produce, but has been in decline for 30 years. In Singapore, where over 90 percent of the food supply is imported from over 170 countries, the country is vulnerable to fluctuations in food supply and prices. As a result, the Singaporean government announced a series of strategic policy initiatives, including the increase of self-production by 30% by 2030 through investment in high technology urban farms, among other measures.

This project responds to this urgent need, targeting crop-based foods and herbs -- key components of the Singaporean national diet -- via an innovative combination of vertical farming (VF) and high-tech greenhouse techniques.

With diverse expertise and customer bases, its partners are uniquely placed to deliver a joined-up coherent approach to the problem and develop a leading-edge turnkey solution fit for the Singaporean market:

LIVFRESH (LF) is a Singapore-based farming company with a mission to revolutionise access to fresh, locally grown crafted produce through high precision controlled environment (HPCE) farming methods.

Liberty Produce (LP) is a UK AgriTech company driving the sector towards greater sustainability, efficiency and security by building leading-edge TCEA farming technology that enables the growth of local produce year-round.

The James Hutton Institute (JHI) is Europe's premier agriculture and environment institute.

Republic Polytechnic, Singapore (RP) provides agricultural/horticultural expertise with site/facilities for installing, testing and developing the solution.

This two-year project will install a shipping-container-based farm at RP for JHI, RP and LP to run trials and understand optimal conditions for crops needed by the Singaporean market. The team will investigate how combined-system growing can provide optimum efficiency for crops for the domestic Singaporean market, and determine how to build a fully optimised combined system.

The second year will focus on commercial rollout, with the installation of a farm at LF, based on the specifications identified during Year 1\. Additional research at the RP farm facility will concern growing high value crops within TCEA to fulfil further aspects of Singaporean domestic needs.