ENG-1986 — Page 119

7

Primary Production

童禁

HONG KONG has a very small agricultural base with only about nine per cent of the total land area being suitable for crop farming. Only about two per cent of the labour force is engaged in primary production agriculture and fisheries yet Hong Kong people, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, are among the world's highest consumers of protein.

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Each day, the people consume about 1000 tonnes of rice, 1 300 tonnes of vegetables, 10 000 pigs, 510 head of cattle, 280 tonnes of poultry, 420 tonnes of fish and 1 100 tonnes of fruit. Much of this is imported, but Hong Kong farmers help to satisfy some of the demand. In terms of quantity, local farmers produce about 35 per cent of fresh vegetables, 45 per cent of live poultry, 18 per cent of live pigs, and 12 per cent of freshwater fish, while the fishing fleet of some 4 700 vessels supplies about 86 per cent of all fresh marine fish eaten. The locally produced food is generally of a higher quality than the same types of imported foodstuffs and thus fetches higher prices in the markets.

Foodstuffs account for about 14 per cent of Hong Kong's imports from China. Local production, which complements rather than competes with imports, is aimed at maintain- ing some degree of self-sufficiency with respect to highly perishable foodstuffs. Local produce consists mainly of high-value foods and full advantage is taken of the consumers' preference for fresh food, as opposed to frozen or chilled food.

Agriculture and Fisheries Department

The Agriculture and Fisheries Department encourages the productive use of agricultural land in the rural areas. It assists in the development of agriculture, especially in the form of irrigation projects. New concepts, techniques and material input to the farming and fishing industries are evaluated and actively promoted. Controls are exercised to prevent the introduction and spread of plant and livestock pests and diseases.

Investigatory programmes of the department cover crops, pest control, animal husban- dry and fisheries. Experiments are conducted on government farms to improve the quality and yield of vegetables, flowers and fruit. The department advises livestock farmers on modern methods of animal production, supplies good quality seeds and breeding stocks of pigs and poultry, and provides an artificial insemination service for pigs.

Fisheries research is conducted on marine resources, aquaculture and the environmental impact of development activities on fisheries. In marine resources, emphasis is placed on optimising production from the fisheries resources exploited by the local fishing fleet and investigating the development potential of under-exploited resources.

Aquaculture studies are concerned with the development of more efficient culture systems for fish and molluscs and of improved methods of producing marine fish fry. Hydrographic investigations are designed to supply environmental information for an