The cult of urban farming has waxed and waned throughout history. But nothing serves as a better catalyst for its return to vogue than a good old-fashioned national crisis: World War II prompted Britain’s “Dig For Victory” campaign, while a devastating oil embargo kick-started Cuba’s urban agriculture movement.
Today, the enemy is SARS-CoV-2, and the country in question is Singapore. Food shortage scares triggered by global lockdowns saw urban farming return in force on the rich island, which over the past few decades took pride in shedding its kampung past to morph into a 21st century concrete jungle.
The city state, which imports over 90 percent of its food, suffered a wave of panic buying during the early stages of the pandemic. In response, authorities launched an ambitious “30 by 30” food resilience goal for the nation to produce 30 per cent of her nutritional needs locally by 2030. Meanwhile,
