AGRI-FOOD companies in Singapore can go beyond addressing food security needs by also becoming providers of novel farming solutions both locally and overseas, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said in a company visit to Sky Urban Solutions on Tuesday.

Sky Urban Solutions operates hydraulic-powered vertical farming systems. During Mr Chan's visit, the company showed off a new micro-farm solution using refurbished freight containers. These containers can house fisheries and cold storage rooms, and can even be used for recreational activities such as farm stays.

Jack Ng, chief executive of Sky Urban Solutions, intends to franchise this micro-farm model. Using these micro-farms would allow farms to add amenities such as restaurants, he said, which might help farmers modernise and attract workers.

At its Lim Chu Kang vertical farm, Sky Urban Solutions currently produces one tonne of vegetables a day. A basketball court-sized micro-farm could produce up to 100 kilogrammes of leafy vegetables a day, Mr Ng said.

The new micro-farms are also more efficient: 24 vertical farming frames in a micro-farm can produce vegetables that are ready for harvest in 21 days. In comparison, this would take 30 to 35 days in traditional farming or 28 days with regular vertical frames.

This accelerated timeline is partially possible because the water system employed in the micro-farms, which pumps more nutrient-rich water to the plants after being cycled through its fish and prawn tanks. Without resorting to pesticides, the company can save more of its vegetables from insects with the time saved.

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The entire system is also sustainable as it can be powered with solar panels installed on the roofs of the structures.

Sky Urban Solutions is already exporting its vertical farming solutions to six countries. It now plans to bring its micro-farms worldwide, beginning with China, India and Malaysia.

In order to implement its technologies abroad, Sky Urban Solutions has had to experiment and adapt solutions. Locally, the company focuses on organic vegetable production. The vegetables it sells to NTUC Fairprice include nai bai and Chinese cabbage. But its farming solution could also grow strawberries. This is currently done by partners in Canada, where cold conditions are hostile to the cultivation of some vegetables.

Mr Chan emphasised the importance of "building capabilities to achieve capacities", allowing Singapore to shift production or scale up even if it is not yet necessary. He floated the possibility of building vertical farms on existing urban infrastructure such as schools and HDB flats, or even onto walls.

"The trick of it is that you must have a modular system that is commercially viable for people in five years or so," he said. "We're trying to optimise the surface area that we have. There's more intricate planning required."