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Mr Lange!
smaller fishermen; others are small consumer co-operatives.
(b)
Agriculture. One of the main activities of the newly
formed Agricultural Department is the establishment and maintenance
of a wholesale vegetable market. Parallel activities include the
distribution of fertilizers and seeds to the farmers.
Although an Agricultural co-operative has not yet been
formed, the whole trend of the Government's dealings with the farmers
is towards the organisation of co-operative industry. Collective
marketing has already been established in a few areas and this will
be extended next season.
Some of the problems that need attention in the near
future are the question of land tenure, the reclamation of marsh land,
and the development of village markets, and, if these can be solved
on co-operative lines, definite progress will have been achieved
towards making the agricultural area a model for the neighbouring
provinces of South China.
(c) Forestry. A scheme is now under consideration by
Government whereby the present system of leasing plots of Crown
land to individual villagers on which to grow pine trees for fuel
will be replaced by a system of communal forests. This is a bold
policy and if it can be implemented will result in the transformation
of the present denuded hillsides into woodland profitable to the
villagers.
3.
The Secretary for Development has on his staff a young
officer who has been appointed a full time Assistant Co-operative
Officer after a brief period of study in England, Norway and Denmark
under the guidance of Miss Margaret Digby. The intimate knowledge
of Cantonese which he possesses makes his services of particular
value in the exploratory and propaganda phase which must precede the
establishment of rural agricultural co-operatives in the villages
of the New Territories. This officer's experience is insufficient
to enable him to tackle the major task of planning the whole of
the urban and rural work that seems to be necessary.
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