5.7 Urban agriculture in East Asia’s agri-food systems

Urban agriculture in East Asia’s agri-food systems

urban agriculture is a crucial component of Japan’s economy and agri-food system. up to one-third of Japan’s agriculture output is generated in urban areas, and urban farmers account for a quarter of farm households (Moreno-peñaranda 2011). urban agriculture is highly commercialized, and farms have grown from an average of 641 hectares in 2005 to 877 hectares in 2015 (Sim 2018). Japan is also a hotbed for technology advances and is a pioneer in information and communication technology–enabled indoor crop production, use of drones for harvesting, and innovative green applications such as using edible crops to provide insulation for buildings (Ecosperity 2018a). Japan is also an Asian frontrunner in vertical farming, with Spread, Fujitsu, and Aerofarms all pursuing hydroponic (soil-less) and vertical agriculture. Spread, which has been active in vertical agriculture since 2006, now produces more than 20,000 heads of lettuce a day, shipped to more than 2,000 supermarkets (Goedde, Horii, and Sanghvi 2015). Fujitsu’s entry into high-tech agriculture is seen as an effort to deploy greater technology research and development in the food sector. The same is true of Toshiba, which has converted one facility into a lettuce and salad factory (Green 2018).

Singapore has been leveraging technological advances in vertical farming using methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics. The number of vertical farms has grown from just one in 2012 to seven in 2016, producing a range of produce from vegetables to aquaculture (Singh 2016). For example, the Apollo Aquaculture Group has created a local “high-rise” seafood farming project that produces six times more than a traditional aquaculture project, and everything is remotely controlled and carefully managed, including the amount of fish feed dispensed (Ecosperity 2018a).

The urban Redevelopment Authority in Singapore has lowered the barriers for urban farming by allowing urban farms and communal gardens on rooftops to contribute to landscape replacement requirements. In addition, longer urban farm leases (20 years instead of 10 years) can also encourage greater uptake of expensive farming technologies. urban farmers can leverage Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s $47 million Agriculture productivity Fund to defray high adoption costs.

Rapid urbanization drives urban farming in China. Environmental factors such as depleted arable land and water contamination along with urbanization make it more important for cities to engage in urban agriculture (Bloomberg 2017). For instance, the number of greenhouse companies has grown from 5 in the 1980s to about 400 in 2010 (Smart Agriculture Analytics 2015). Beijing was one of the first cities to integrate urban agriculture into its overall development strategy by developing five “agro-parks.” The city also attempted to institutionalize urban agriculture by measuring and documenting its economic, social, and environmental impacts in official records beginning in 2010. The Shanghai government has launched programs to create a sustainable system of urban farming, including quality control systems as well as government-funded campaigns to promote food safety and consumer acceptance. At the national level, about 40 research institutes are working on solutions that will boost efficiencies in vertical and indoor farming.

and pesticide use (providing improved resilience to climatic and weather risks) (Schuttelaar and partners 2019). However, plastic use in agriculture has also contributed to an increase in marine debris, given that much of the agri-food plastic ends up in oceans through riverways (box 5.8) (World Bank 2019c). Marine debris, originating from many sources, is a serious threat to the environment, the economy, and health. The annual global damage to marine ecosystems caused by plastics is estimated to be at least $13 billion per year (World Bank 2019c).