https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/987

Through structured comparison, this article seeks to present the different approaches to urban agriculture in the cities of Singapore and Kigali. The former is seen as a model ‘smart city’ worth following worldwide, while the latter is frequently referred to as the ‘Singapore of Africa’. The research conducted was divided into two stages. The first one was desk-based and included the analysis of satellite and aerial images along with the analysis of legal documents regarding land ownership and urban agriculture management. The second one was based on field work carried out in 2019 in both cities and comprised the mapping of areas encompassed by urban agriculture, the collection of photographic documentation, field observations, as well as semi-structured interviews. The research was summarized in line with a comparative analysis of institutional and legal framework of urban agriculture and policy towards its development; spatial features of urban agriculture, including distribution, location, and area; as well as inherent features of urban agriculture, including systems of production, main crops, production methods, and functions. The process makes it clear that despite the fact that urban agriculture is considered in planning documents of both cities, the scale of the activity and the approach towards it differ markedly. In Singapore, the authorities support mainly the high-technology and land-efficient solutions, with other, low-profit forms of agricultural activity being pushed out from the urban space. In turn, in Kigali, where the scale of agricultural activity is incomparably greater, the inhabitants enjoy a certain freedom to make use of unused land in cultivation, which increases their food security and enhances their ability to cope with external stresses.

Singapore and China started their close economic collaboration in the early 1990s. The collaboration model in the first 25 years focused mainly on the government's role in foreign investment promotion, urban development, industrial infrastructure development and other related government policies. Platforms of collaboration included the Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city, Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, the Software Transfer Project, training programs for thousands of Chinese officials and bilateral economic councils. Singapore's pragmatic leverage on globalization trends and thoughtful application of market forces have been a major factor in the shaping of China's own highly successful economic growth model. Singapore-China economic collaboration model 2.0 will be different. China is now the second largest economy in the world and is expected to establish its global leadership in the world. Singapore has developed successfully into a leading global business hub complete with trading, manufacturing, financing and professional services as the engines of the business hub. Model 2.0 will be about mutual sharing and partnership. We should see more collaboration outside of China, driven by the private sector and in new technologies. If collaboration model 2.0 is successful, we will see both China and Singapore emerging stronger, in a more sustainable way. Major companies in both countries will be more tightly coupled in projects and joint ventures in China and elsewhere.