ENG-2007 — Page 234

186 Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

elderly and new arrivals to Hong Kong. A vehicle was also used as a mobile education centre to spread the word.

To encourage community involvement in keeping Hong Kong clean, the department channelled $1.8 million to 18 District Councils to organise publicity campaigns.

Primary Production

Hong Kong's agriculture and fisheries industries are relatively small. The Government does not give direct subsidies to them or attempt to protect them from open market forces. Instead, the AFCD concentrates on helping them to improve the quality of their output and to enhance their productivity and competitiveness.

During the year, the combined output of the two industries was worth. $2.8 billion. The output accounted for three per cent of vegetables, 39 per cent of cut flowers, 18 per cent of live pigs, 50 per cent of live poultry, five per cent of freshwater fish and 23 per cent of seafood sold locally. Approximately 18 000 people were employed directly in the industries in 2007.

Agriculture Industry

Hong Kong's agricultural industry focuses mainly on producing quality fresh food crops through intensive land use. Farming is done largely in the New Territories but only 2 per cent of the land there is being used for growing crops which comprise mainly vegetables and cut flowers, with a combined output valued at about $301 million in 2007. Pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food and the value of locally reared pigs was about $487 million, while that of poultry, including chickens and pigeons, was $303 million.

The local agricultural industry has to adapt to fast-changing market trends to achieve sustainable development, constrained by the limited supply of farm land and labour, competition from imports, the cost of maintaining high environmental standards and calls for improved farm hygiene and safe produce. The AFCD encourages crop farmers to tap niche markets and to sharpen their competitiveness by cultivating safe, good quality vegetables. The department works with local organic farming organisations and the Vegetable Marketing Organisation to promote organic farming and to develop a market for organic vegetables.

The department provides an organic farming support service to some 100 farms located on about 40 hectares of land. The AFCD also promotes the use of greenhouse technology for intensive high-value crop production. During the year, four improved varieties of vegetable and fruit red flesh rock melon, red seedless watermelon, silky gourd and Nang Feng mustard - were introduced to farmers for cultivation in Hong Kong.

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The voluntary Accredited Farm Scheme managed by the AFCD and the Vegetable Marketing Organisation since 1994 is designed to provide a stable supply of high quality and safe vegetables. A total of 236 farms spread over 1 943 hectares of land