ENG-1964 — Page 84

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

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40 per cent of the two-crop paddy land is now used for winter season catch crops. Most of this land formerly remained fallow.

The area of land under permanent vegetable cultivation has steadily increased from 2,254 acres in 1954 to 8,240 acres in 1964. Six to eight crops of vegetables are harvested annually from in- tensively cultivated land. The main crops are white cabbage, flower- ing cabbage, turnip, leaf mustard, Chinese kale, Chinese lettuce, tomato, water spinach, string bean, watercress, cucumber and Chinese gourd. Other vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots are produced in great quantity during the cooler months and quality is excellent. This intensive production of vegetables takes place on both fertile and comparatively infertile land and is made possible by heavy dressings of manure. The traditional use of nightsoil is being replaced or supplemented by pig and poultry manure, peanut cake, duck feathers, bone meal and com- post. The use of artificial fertilizers is increasing, usually in addition to organic manures. The wide-spread use of insecticides is an important feature of farming, as is the increasing use of selected crop varieties.

Sweet potatoes are grown both for human consumption (the tubers), and for pigfeed (the vines). Some 2,500 acres of drier lands are double cropped, chiefly for tubers; and a catch crop of sweet potatoes is also grown on over 3,000 acres following the second paddy harvest. With an average yield of three tons an acre for each crop, and an average market price of $300 a ton this represents an annual value of over $8 million. About 1,130 acres of other field crops, such as peanut millet, soy bean and sugar-cane are cultivated mainly for local consumption. Fruit production, although not yet substantial, is expanding and includes wong pei, lung ngan, lemon, orange, tangerine, Japanese apricot, guava, papaya, lychees and pineapple. Accurate statistics are not available, but approxi- mately 29,000 cwts of assorted fruits, valued at over $1.5 million, were harvested during the year. There is a small but useful export trade in some fruit and field crops to overseas Chinese. The water chestnut crop in particular has greatly improved in quality in recent years and a larger proportion is now being exported as 'first grade'.

Since 1954 the area of land under two-crop paddy has fallen from 20,191 to 14,020 acres; a further 2,510 acres are used for