PRIMARY PRODUCTION
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species of Chinese gourds are produced in summer and a wide range of exotic tem- perate vegetables including tomato, sweet pepper, cabbage, celery, head lettuce, cauliflower and carrot are grown in winter. The common types of flowers are gladiolus and chrysanthemum which grow all the year round; dahlia, rose, aster, snapdragon and carnation are grown in winter, and ginger lily and lotus flower in summer. Peach blossom and ornamental citrus are grown especially for the Lunar New Year. The area of land under vegetables and flowers has increased from 2,250 acres in 1954 to 11,260 in 1974.
A wide range of fruit is grown on the lower hill slopes. The principal crops are longan, lychee, wampei, tangerine, local lemon, banana, papaya and pineapple. Land under orchards in 1954 was 952 acres. By 1974, it was 1,590 acres.
Other field crops such as sweet potato, taro, yam, soy bean and sugarcane are cultivated in the remote and drier areas where water and transport facilities are inadequate to grow vegetables or rice. The acreage under rainfed crops was 1,070 acres in 1974, compared with 3,450 acres in 1954.
As there is insufficient land for extensive grazing, pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food. Pigs in Hong Kong are mostly crosses of local animals with exotic stock, and pure strains of the Chinese type are becoming difficult to find. Although locally produced pigs represent only 12 per cent of total pigs killed, their value is $85 million each year.
With an annual production value of $166 million, the poultry industry (including pigeons and quail) is continuing to develop on a more sophisticated basis. Farmers are adopting advanced methods of management and successfully adapting them to local conditions, taking the process through from locally bred chicks to table birds, using both local breeds and imported hybrids. Duck rearing is also important and steps are being taken to expand this industry.
While local cattle and buffaloes are kept mainly for work, imported Friesians are kept by dairies, of which the largest is on Hong Kong Island and the others in smaller groups outside Kowloon and in the New Territories. Regular tuberculin testing is carried out on all dairy animals.
Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (type O) and swine fever still occur, but these have been kept under control by vaccination. New- castle disease in poultry has been controlled by the use of the Ranikhet and intra- nasal-drop vaccines. While rinderpest was eradicated in 1950, vaccination continues using a tissue culture vaccine providing a prolonged immunity as safeguard against the reintroduction of the disease. Investigations to establish the incidence of inter- current disease in both pigs and poultry are undertaken at the veterinary laboratory.
Legislation requires all imported dogs and cats to be quarantined for six months, except those from scheduled countries (Britain, Australia and New Zealand), to pre- vent the introduction of rabies which was eradicated in 1955. Stray dogs are caught and detained for observation and, if unclaimed, destroyed under the rabies control policy.