ENG-1979 — Page 85

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Consumer demand and local primary production, within the context of world food production and supply, are investigated to enable appropriate development planning. All available statistical data on production factors and food supplies, including imports, are collected and analysed to help formulate local production and marketing policies. The business efficiency of different sectors within the primary industries is studied to establish and update productivity standards, and to facilitate advice on their improvement. Forward projection studies of the market demand for foods are prepared. The projections are then related to local primary production capacity, both actual and potential.

Research programmes of the department cover crops, pest control, animal husbandry, and fisheries. On government farms, experiments are conducted to improve the quality and yield for each hectare of vegetables, flowers and fruit. The department advises livestock farmers on modern methods of animal production, helps them in the supply of improved and exotic breeds of pigs and poultry, and provides an artificial insemination service for pigs.

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Fisheries research covers marine resources, aquaculture, hydrography and marine pollution problems. In marine resources research, emphasis is placed on recommending new fish stocks for commercial exploitation within the range of the Hong Kong fleet, and on monitoring the performance of existing capture fisheries. Aquaculture is concerned with culture system development, with the objective of increasing the average yield rate over a given area and time. Hydrographic investigations are designed to supply environmental information for an assortment of biological programmes. Marine pollution research is primarily aimed at identifying the level of pollution and the principal indicators of various forms of pollution; it also serves an advisory function in many ways.

Developing Farming and Fishing

Owing to the shortage of labour in Hong Kong and its rising cost, the main development in the agricultural industry in recent years has been the introduction of labour-saving devices. Farmers use pre-emergence herbicides for weed control in market garden crops, and there is widespread use of small farm machines and sprinkler irrigation. At the end of 1979, there were 2,900 rotary cultivators and 2,000 sprinkler units in use on vegetable farms. The plastic net house, designed to aid vegetable growing in adverse weather, is the subject of an active development programme by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. The net houses, which are particularly suited for leafy green vegetables, protect crops from bad weather, insects and birds. Technical assistance, agricultural loans and related services have been made available to farmers to promote their use.

Teams of agricultural development officers are posted throughout the New Territories to deal with farming and pollution problems, and with co-operative societies and rural associations. Both credit facilities and technical advice are available to farmers and the agricultural development officers also assist them in land development and rehabilitation. In the rural development programme in 1979, more than 5,700 farmers attended farm discussion groups led by professional and technical officers from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. Some 100 field demonstrations of chemical weed control were conducted in the main vegetable-growing areas for the benefit of farmers. Officers also made more than 100,600 visits to farmers and co-operative societies, and many farmers visited government experimental farms and farming projects.

Fisheries development work involves modernising fishing craft and introducing more efficient fishing gear and navigational aids. An advisory service on hull design and deck arrangement is provided for fishermen, while experiments and demonstrations are con-