Singapore opened the world’s tallest vertical farm on Wednesday, with the aim of reducing the city-state’s reliance on imported food. The 23-meter-tall facility, which cost 80 million Singapore dollars (approximately $62 million), was developed by the Singaporean company Greenphyto. The facility opened on schedule despite other operators currently grappling with rising costs and the government having scaled back domestic agricultural production targets. A series of farm closures in recent years has highlighted that high-tech agriculture is far from a definitive solution to the island nation’s food security challenges. Nevertheless, Singapore remains committed to the idea that scale and automation can make vertical farming profitable. The fully automated farm is designed to produce up to 2,000 tons of vegetables annually, including lettuce and spinach, with yields per hectare reaching up to 45 times those of traditional farming methods.