ENG-1969 — Page 133

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Peak. Another new market at Sai Kung is under construction, and is expected to open in about March 1970. Four fish-collecting depots have been set up in other fishing centres to provide sea and land transport to the wholesale markets. The depots also serve as liaison offices for the organisation.

The provision of cheap credit to fishermen is one of the most important services offered by the organisation. Its revolving loan fund, established in 1946, has made loans totalling $30,102,511.45 Of this, some $26,683,000 had been repaid at the end of the year. The fund's ceiling was stabilised at $3.5 million in 1968. The organi- sation also administers a revolving loan fund of $100,000 financed by the Co-operative for American Relief Everywhere, specifically for shrimp fishermen.

A further important side to the organisation's development pro- gramme is the provision of schooling facilities for the children of fishermen. Fourteen schools have been established and approxi- mately 3,800 fishermen's children were receiving education at these schools, with a further 493 attending other schools on scholarships provided by the organisation.

The organisation may one day be run by the fishermen themselves as a co-operative enterprise, but the previous lack of education is a problem that only time and the existing educational programme can solve. As it is, the success of the organisation has attracted world-wide interest and many overseas visitors and students come to study its operation.

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CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES AND CREDIT UNIONS

Government policy is to promote and develop the co-operative and credit union movements in Hong Kong as instruments to improve the economic and social conditions of the people, by pro- viding encouragement, technical guidance and material support.

In particular, farmers and fishermen have accepted the co- operative movement as a sound and democratic way of improving their lot. This has been evidenced by the formation of societies of diverse nature with activities related to housing, thrift and loan, credit, marketing, irrigation, animal feed and pig raising. Local civil servants form a third major group to have embraced the co-operative