ENG-2018 — Page 216

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Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

regulations and penalties have been increased according to the amended licensing scheme, which took effect in 2017, under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Trading and Breeding) Regulations.

Primary Production

Hong Kong's agricultural and fisheries industries are relatively small in scale. The government helps improve their output quality, productivity and competitiveness. In 2018, the two industries combined employed some 17,911 people directly and produced $3.9 billion of output. Live poultry accounted for 100 per cent of local consumption; cut flowers, 23 per cent; seafood, 18 per cent; live pigs, 6.7 per cent; freshwater fish, 4 per cent; and local vegetables, 1.8 per cent.

Agricultural Industry

The agricultural industry focuses mainly on producing quality fresh food crops through intensive land use. Most farming is in the New Territories for growing crops, comprising mainly vegetables and cut flowers, with a combined output in 2018 valued at about $348 million. The principal food animals reared are pigs and poultry, which respectively yielded earnings of about $349 million and about $337 million, inclusive of eggs.

The AFCD encourages crop farmers to tap niche markets and sharpen their competitiveness by cultivating safe and quality vegetables. To promote organic farming, the department provides organic farming support to 306 farms occupying 105 hectares of land. It also promotes the use of greenhouse technology for intensive high-value crop production. During 2018, two improved varieties, namely the mini wax gourd and Chinese white cabbage, were introduced to farmers for cultivation.

The department manages a voluntary Accredited Farm Scheme jointly with a statutory body, the Vegetable Marketing Organisation (VMO), to provide a stable supply of quality and safe vegetables. A total of 311 farms in Hong Kong, Guangdong Province and Ningxia Autonomous Region, spreading over 2,717 hectares of land, are accredited under the scheme.

Leisure farms are popular places for recreation. The department works with the agricultural sector to update the information of Hong Kong's leisure farms regularly and uploads the information to a mobile application, Hong Kong Leisure Farms.

Under the New Agriculture Policy, the government promotes the modernisation and sustainable development of local agriculture. A $500 million Sustainable Agricultural Development Fund accepts applications to enhance the industry's overall competitiveness and an Agricultural Park is being planned for Kwu Tung South. A consultancy study to explore the feasibility and merits of designating agricultural priority areas was commissioned in late 2018.

Fisheries Industry

Fresh fish is one of Hong Kong's most important primary products. In 2018, the amount of fish caught and fish reared in ponds and floating cages at sea totalled about 127,800 tonnes, with a value of $2.9 billion.

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