ENG-1968 — Page 109

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Hong Kong businessmen, Messrs Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie, under the Trusteeship of the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, who is also the Chairman of the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund Committee. As at March 31, 1968, the total loans issued and recovered since inception of the four funds were in the order of $40 million and $36 million, respectively. The Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association, a philanthropic organization founded by the Kadoorie brothers, makes grants to farmers who cannot find enough capital on their own or are in genuine hardship. The general policy of the Association is to help those who are prepared to help themselves 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 to similar organizations concerned with the affairs of the rural community.

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In the rural education programme this year, over 860 farmers attended discussion groups led by professional and technical officers from the department. A restricted programme of formal training was also carried out in which 160 farmers and farmers' sons and daughters received vocational training in a wide variety of subjects. Over 125,000 visits were made to farmers by both profes- sional and technical officers during the year. Farmers also visited government experimental farms and farming projects.

PRINCIPAL CROPS

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Within the last decade there has been a marked change in the farming pattern in Hong Kong. Paddy cultivation was formerly the most important aspect of agriculture in the New Territories, but there has been a steady increase 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 30 per cent of the two-crop paddy land is now used for winter season crops. Most of this land formerly remained fallow during the winter season.

The area of land under market gardening has increased from 2,250 acres in 1954 to 8,860 acres in 1968 of which 8,360 acres were under cultivation for vegetables and 500 acres for flowers and flowering shrubs. Six to eight crops of vegetables are harvested annually from intensively cultivated land. The main crops are