Singapore Opens World's Tallest Vertical Farm as the City-State Recalibrates Its Food Security Strategy
Greenphyto's S$80 million, AI-powered indoor facility in Jurong West can produce 2,000 metric tons of vegetables per year, arriving as the global vertical farming market hits $7.5 billion and Singapore revises its food security goals.
A 23-Meter Tower of Lettuce and Kai Lan
Singapore’s Greenphyto opened the world’s tallest indoor vertical farm on January 7 in the Jurong West industrial district, a 23.3-meter-high, 118-meter-long hydroponic complex that cost S$80 million (approximately US$62 million) and took 14 years to develop. The five-story facility occupies two hectares of land and is designed to produce up to 2,000 metric tons of vegetables per year, though current output stands at roughly 200 metric tons as the operation scales up.
The farm is fully automated and powered by artificial intelligence. Unmanned growing chambers house robotic systems that plant seedlings, monitor crop health through image analysis, and collect data that feeds into Greenphyto’s proprietary AI software. The system tracks germination rates, predicts yields, and alerts staff to potential problems such as yellowing leaves. The company says its technology has reduced electricity consumption by approximately 30 percent and achieves a yield 45 times greater per hectare than traditional farming.
Greenphyto sells its produce under the Hydrogreens brand at 95 retail locations, including FairPrice and Sheng Siong supermarkets. To minimize food waste, the farm operates on a make-to-order basis, growing vegetables only after securing orders from retailers. The company holds 69 patents and has obtained patent protection in more than 30 countries, with founder and CEO Susan Chong stating that the next phase is about globalization.
A Policy Shift Behind the Launch
The farm’s opening arrived just two months after Singapore replaced its original “30 by 30” food production goal with narrower targets. The 2019-era initiative had aimed for local farms to supply 30 percent of the city-state’s nutritional needs by 2030. In November 2025, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced revised targets: local farms should supply 20 percent of fiber consumption (fresh leafy and fruited vegetables, beansprouts, and mushrooms) and 30 percent of protein consumption (eggs and seafood) by 2035.
The recalibration followed a difficult period for Singapore’s agricultural technology sector. Several high-tech farming ventures, including indoor farm operators I.F.F.I and VertiVegies, shut down or abandoned expansion plans after encountering production declines and rising operating costs. Singapore imports approximately 90 percent of its food, and the government has acknowledged that high land costs and energy prices continue to challenge local producers. To support the remaining farms, the Singapore Food Agency is studying a pilot multi-tenanted agri-food facility that would host multiple farm types under one roof, sharing utilities, logistics, and processing infrastructure.
A $7.5 Billion Market Entering a Disciplined Phase
Greenphyto’s launch coincides with a period of maturation across the global vertical farming industry. According to a Mordor Intelligence report published in February 2026, the global vertical farming market is valued at US$7.5 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach US$18.4 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual rate of 19.66 percent.
The report identifies automation and climate volatility as the sector’s primary growth drivers. Horticultural LED efficacy improvements have reduced the electricity required per kilogram of lettuce by 35 percent, and deep reinforcement learning systems now adjust light spectrum and photoperiod in real time, pushing energy consumption down to 6.42 kilowatt-hours per kilogram. Robotics for seeding, transplanting, and harvesting have cut labor’s share of operating costs from the mid-forties to the mid-twenties in percentage terms. On the demand side, repeated droughts reduced California lettuce yields by 18 percent in 2024, lifting wholesale prices by 22 percent and reinforcing interest in weather-independent production.
The industry’s investment profile has also shifted. Early-stage growth was fueled largely by venture capital, but Mordor Intelligence’s analysis notes that decisions now increasingly prioritize profitability, energy optimization, and secured offtake agreements over rapid footprint expansion. Capital costs for LEDs and software have fallen enough to reduce the payback period for a greenfield vertical farming project from eight years in 2020 to five years in 2026. Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, driven by urban density and food import reliance, while North America remains the revenue leader through established retailer partnerships.