ENG-1963 — Page 136

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

101

of ancestral halls, religious observances, clan welfare and the main- tenance of schools. Such land may not be disposed of without the consent of the clan members (sometimes numbering many hundreds) and the permission of the District Officer.

Owing to the big increase in population during the 1950's how- ever, a marked change has occurred. According to the 1961 census, only just over 50 per cent of New Territories farmers now farm their own or clan land. These owner-cultivators, the majority still growing rice, are concentrated in the Hakka areas of Sai Kung and Sha Tau Kok. The remaining farmers, often Cantonese or Chiuchow immigrants, rent their land from the original owners and this pattern is particularly marked among vegetable and poultry farmers in the Yuen Long and Fanling (Tai Po) areas. Vegetable holdings are extremely small, usually less than one

acre.

Rents of rice land in the New Territories are customarily reckoned in paddy. An average annual rent for two-crop rice land would be about 1,600 pounds of paddy an acre, or about 40 per cent of the total annual yield from two crops. Rents for vegetable land are usually reckoned in cash. Rent for the very best vegetable land, with water supply and road access, would be about one-sixth of the annual crop value, but heavier costs of labour, fertilizers etc have to be taken into account. Leases for both types of land are generally for a period of 10 to 15 years, but rentals are often reassessed annually. Formal written leases are seldom entered into and the arrangements between landlord and tenant are often merely oral.

Crown land can also be cultivated on a temporary basis by means of a Crown Land Permit and some quite large farms are held on this basis. The permit is normally renewed every year until the land is required for permanent development. If at the end of 10 years it appears that the land will not be required, the permittee may apply to Government for the grant of a lease. In the new towns and areas required for industrial development, much agricultural land is being taken out of production by surrender for roads and public services or in exchange for building land in town centres. In the more rural parts of the New Territories feeder roads and piers are being built and assistance is being given to villagers