ENG-1964 — Page 83

66

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

waters of the territory and the administrative organization of co-operative societies of all types. The conservation of water and soil, through afforestation of bare, eroded hill-sides and catchment areas is important. Afforestation is largely undertaken by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department and private afforestation is still relatively unimportant. The New Territories Administration is responsible for land tenure and certain aspects of land development in the New Territories.

In seeking to increase production and improve the economic status of individual farmers the Agriculture and Fisheries Depart- ment encourages diversified production to mitigate the effects of seasonal market ‘gluts' and trade recessions.

Loans are available to farmers through the Kadoorie Agricul- tural Aid Loan Fund, started in 1955 by Government and Messrs Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie. The fund is administered by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, whose Director is the chairman and trustee. Loans are also available for farmers through the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund and through the Vegetable Marketing Organization Loan Fund. The Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Associa- tion, a philanthropic organization also founded by the Kadoorie brothers, gives free grants to members of the farming community who cannot find enough capital on their own. The general policy of the association is to help those who are prepared to help them- selves, and, although not a government sponsored organization, it works closely with the Agriculture and Fisheries Department which offers technical assistance and advice to it and similar organi- zations concerned with the rural community.

In the rural education programme this year some 450 farmers attended discussion groups, led by professional and technical ex- perts from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. A restricted programme of formal training was also carried out in which more than 293 farmers and farmers' sons received vocational training in a wide variety of subjects. Farmers also visited government ex- perimental stations and farming projects.

Paddy cultivation was formerly the most important aspect of agriculture in the New Territories but there is now a steady in- crease in market gardening, and pig and poultry production. Most of this has been at the expense of rice growing land but there is also some development of marginal land. In addition more than