PRIMARY PRODUCTION
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end of 1978 there were 2,850 rotary cultivators and 1,600 sprinkler units in use on vegetable farms.
The plastic net house, designed to aid vegetable growing in adverse weather, is the subject of an active development programme by the Agriculture and Fisheries Depart- ment. The impressive performance of a demonstration net house, erected in a farmer's field at Yuen Long, has strengthened farmers' confidence in the net house. Technical assistance, agricultural loans and related services have been made available to farmers, promoting the use of net houses.
Teams of agricultural development officers are posted throughout the New Ter- ritories to deal with farming and pollution problems, and with co-operative societies. Close contact with the farming community and liaison with local co-operative socie- ties and rural associations is maintained by farm advisers. Both credit facilities and technical advice are available through the development service. The agricultural development officers also help farmers in land development and land rehabilitation. In the rural development programme in 1978, more than 7,600 farmers attended farm discussion groups led by professional and technical officers from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. Some 60 field demonstrations of chemical weed control were conducted in the main vegetable-growing areas for the benefit of farmers. Officers also made more than 160,000 visits to farmers and co-operative societies, and many farmers visited government experimental farms and farming projects.
Fisheries development work involves modernising fishing craft and introducing more efficient fishing gear and navigational aids. An advisory service on hull design and deck arrangement is provided for fishermen, while experiments and demonstra- tions are conducted to test the suitability of new fishing gear. Fishermen's training classes in navigation, steering and engine operation are organised in the main fishing ports. Education is available to fishermen's children through 13 schools run by the Fish Marketing Organisation. At the end of 1978, 3,686 children were attending these schools. A further 36 were attending other schools on scholarships provided by the organisation.
Close contact with the fishing community is maintained through liaison with producer associations and fishermen's co-operative societies. Nine liaison offices operate in the main fishing centres to provide a link with the fishermen.
Loans
Loans are available to the agricultural industry through three separate loan funds the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund and the World Refugee Year Loan Fund. All are administered through the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. At December 31, 1978, loans issued since the inception of these three funds totalled almost $109 million. Of this, almost $103 million had been recovered. The Fisheries Development Loan Fund, with a capital of $5 million, is administered by the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries specifically for developing the fishing fleet. Finance from the World Refugee Year Loan Fund for Co-operative Societies, donated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1962, also is available to members of fishermen's co-operative societies. The Fish Marketing Organisation Loan Fund is another important source of loan finance for fishermen. This fund, with a ceiling of $7.5 million, was established in 1946. The organisation