ENG-1962 — Page 135

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

103

It is Government's policy to encourage diversification in farming practice and it is estimated that now more than 35 per cent of the two-crop paddy land is used for winter season catch crops of vegetables. Most of this land formerly remained fallow. There has also been more use of artificial fertilizers. A striking aspect of market gardening in Hong Kong is the widespread use of small knapsack sprayers and the most modern insecticides. The steady expansion of primary production over the past three years is shown in Appendix V.

AGRICULTURE

Since 1954 the area of land under two-crop paddy has fallen from 20,191 to 16,545 acres, the balance being used for permanent vegetable and field crop production. A total of 2,709 acres are also used for one-crop paddy in brackish water and 127 acres for one-crop upland paddy. Due to drought there was a fall in paddy production in 1962 and, taking the average milling percentage to be 68, the estimated crop was 16,463 metric tons of rice. At an average wholesale price of $60 a picul the crop was valued at $16,333,000. In a normal year the average yield of paddy from an acre of two-crop land is about 1.2 metric tons, but with seed of approved varieties, good irrigation and the use of fertilizers, production may reach 1.8 metric tons on average land, and over two metric tons on better soils.

The most important disease of paddy is blast, caused by the fungus Piricularia Oryzae, and farmers are making more use of blast-resistant varieties recommended by the Agriculture and Forestry Department. The department also selects seed within varieties, but only a limited amount of such improved seed is available. Traditionally the manurial treatment of rice consists of adding only very small dressings of dry animal manure, but the use of balanced artificial fertilizers is becoming increasingly im- portant.

The area of land under permanent vegetable cultivation has steadily increased from 2,254 acres in 1954 to 6,484 acres in 1962. This increase comes mainly from the transition of 3,700 acres of rice land to vegetable production, and the development of 530 acres of marginal land. In addition some 1,200 acres of two-crop paddy land (that is, land which can be irrigated during the driest weather and has good access to markets) is also used for cultivating

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