ENG-1957 — Page 126

104

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

For a description of Land Policy in general see pages 179 to 184 of Chapter 10.

LAND UTILIZATION

A survey made by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department in 1954 showed that 13% (about 30,000 acres) of the total land area of the Colony was being used for agriculture and animal industries. The nature of the terrain precludes any extensive development of agriculture in new areas, but there is a certain amount of land formerly cul- tivated which, due to circumstances described in the New Territories section of Chapter 3, has been allowed to become waste. If these lands, and other small marginal tracts, could be re-opened for cultivation, it is estimated that the amount of agricultural land would be enlarged by 10,000 acres--from 3% to 16% of the Colony's total area. The most practical form which planned land utilization can take in the very much larger parts of the rural zone which, due to steep hills, poor soil and absence of water, are unsuitable for agriculture, is afforestation. It is estimated that over 70,000 acres can, with time and persistence, be planted with trees. The area under afforestation was extended by 1,300 acres this year.

Against this must be set the demands of a predominantly urban colony with a rapidly rising population and a basis of economy that is becoming increasingly industrial. Urban industry is now Hong Kong's largest employer, and in- dustries need land. Wherever possible factories and urban extensions in country zones are concentrated on land re- claimed from the sea-as at Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan- but towns such as Yuen Long, Tai Po and Sha Tin are all expanding, and it is unavoidable that in the process fields in the close vicinity of towns will be lost to agriculture. The land policy of the New Territories Administration restricts the process as far as is reasonably possible, but each year's figures of agricultural acreage emphasize the struggle between the demands of town and country.