ENG-1977 — Page 89

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

and chrysanthemum grow all the year round; dahlia, rose, aster, snapdragon and carnation in winter; and ginger lily and lotus flower in summer. A wide range of ornamental plants - including philodendron, dieffenbachia, bamboo palm and poin- settia are produced in commercial nurseries. Peach blossom and ornamental citrus are grown specially for the Lunar New Year. The area of land under vegetables and flowers has increased from 910 hectares in 1954 to 4,160 hectares in 1977.

Various types of fruit are grown on the lower hill slopes. The principal crops are longan, lychee, wampei, tangerine, local lemon, banana, guava and pineapple. Land under orchards in 1954 totalled 390 hectares; by 1977 it was 550 hectares.

Other field crops such as sweet potato, taro, yam and sugar cane are cultivated in the remote and drier areas where water and transport facilities are inadequate for growing vegetables or rice. Some 100 hectares were under rain-fed crops in 1977, compared with 1,410 hectares in 1954.

In an effort to control the import and sale of potentially-dangerous agricultural pesticides, the Agricultural Pesticides Ordinance came into effect on July 15, 1977. This ordinance, which supercedes the Pharmacy and Poisons (Agricultural Poisons) Regulations 1970, requires the registration of all agricultural pesticides and the licen- sing of all dealers who import, repack, supply or sell agricultural pesticides. It also lays down conditions for storing, packaging and labelling agricultural pesticides.

Because there is insufficient land for extensive grazing, pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food. Pigs in Hong Kong are mostly crosses of local animals with exotic stock; pure strains of the Chinese type are becoming difficult to find. Although locally-produced pigs represented only 17 per cent of the total pigs killed in 1977, their value amounted to $163 million.

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With an annual production value of $298 million, the poultry industry - including ducks, pigeons and quail is continuing to develop on a more sophisticated basis. Farmers are adopting advanced methods of management and are successfully adap- ting them to local conditions, taking the process through from locally-bred chicks to table birds with both local breeds and imported hybrids.

While local cattle and buffaloes are used mainly for work, imported Friesians are kept by dairies - of which the largest is on Hong Kong Island and the others are in the New Territories. Regular tuberculin testing is carried out on all dairy animals.

Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (type O) and swine fever still occur, but these have been kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle disease in poultry has been controlled by the use of Ranikhet and intranasal-drop vaccines. No outbreaks of Rinderpest have occurred since 1950. Tissue culture vaccine is still being used in some young dairy cattle to give life-long protection. Investigations to establish the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are under- taken at the government's veterinary laboratory.

All imported dogs and cats, other than those from Britain, the Irish Republic, Australia and New Zealand, are subject to six months' quarantine. To prevent the re-introduction of rabies, which was eradicated in 1955, stray dogs are caught and, if unclaimed, are destroyed under a rabies control policy. Any dog that bites a person is required to be detained for observation in government kennels.

A Rabies Awareness Campaign designed to bring home to the public the ever-present dangers of the disease was launched in May. The campaign was accentuated by the