Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ20: Local agricultural development
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply
by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (February 6):
Question:
According to the estimates released by the Government at the end of 2011,
agricultural land accounted for about 6.1% of the total land area in Hong
Kong, i.e. about 6 700 hectares, among which 3 292 hectares of land in the
New Territories were covered by statutory plans and zoned for
"agricultural" use (representing approximately 10.5% of the total land
area in the New Territories covered by statutory plans). The current
agricultural policy is to "follow the general policy framework of free
market. Except where social considerations are overriding, the allocation
of resources in the economy is left to market forces with minimal
government intervention". In recent years, as many pieces of agricultural
land in the New Territories have been left derelict after acquisition by
property developers, some agricultural land has become container yards or
vehicle parks, or has been turned into other land uses, and coupled with
the Government's plan to develop Northeast and North New Territories, the
area of agricultural land for farming has been dwindling and the
agriculture industry is shrinking continuously. The market share of
locally produced vegetables has dropped from 30% in the 1990s to 2.3% in
2011. The relevant authorities on the Mainland, on the contrary,
promulgated vegetable supply assurance measures in 2010, and requested
large cities to set a minimum area of agricultural land designated for
vegetable production so as to enhance self-sufficiency. Furthermore,
Taiwan has adopted "a healthy, efficient and sustainable development" as
an objective of its agricultural policy and has formulated corresponding
measures to help the agricultural sector. Some members of the agriculture
industry have pointed out that, due to repeated problems with food
products from the Mainland in recent years, quite a number of Hong Kong
people practise organic farming and purchase organic agricultural
products, and such people also have confidence in and a demand for local
agricultural products. In addition, developing the agriculture industry
can also enhance diversity of local industries, create employment
opportunities, maintain ecological balance and facilitate the development
of biological diversity. In this connection, will the Government inform
this Council:
(a) whether the authorities will review the existing principle of free
market playing a leading role and formulate afresh a "healthy and
sustainable" agricultural policy;
(b) as some farmers have pointed out that the agricultural land in the New
Territories has continuously been acquired and hoarded by property
developers, resulting in idling of and reduction in agricultural land,
whether the authorities have given up development of the agriculture
industry;
(c) given that quite a number of cities and countries have set targets on
the market shares of local agricultural products (e.g. in the case of
Shanghai, the minimum assured supply of locally produced vegetables will
be 30% in 2020), whether the authorities have formulated such a target; if
they have not, of the reasons for that;
(d) of the respective areas of agricultural land used for producing
vegetables, flowers, miscellaneous crops and fruits, and the respective
market shares of the such agricultural products produced each year between
1997-1998 and 2011-2012 (set out in Table 1);
(e) of the respective numbers of applications for rezoning agricultural
land received and approved by the Town Planning Board (set out in Table
2), the total area involved and the total amount of additional land
premium involved in approved cases each year between 1997-1998 and
2011-2012; and
(f) of the respective number of farms in Hong Kong and the number of
people working in such farms each year between 1997-1998 and 2011-2012
(set out in Table 3)?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been providing staunch support for local fisheries and
agricultural development. For agriculture as related to this question, the
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) actively
encourages and supports local farmers to develop organic farming. Through
the Organic Farming Support Service, the Department provides technical
advice and support to those farmers who wish to switch to organic farming
from traditional farming. In addition, AFCD promotes the production and
sale of local organic agricultural products jointly with the Vegetable
Marketing Organisation (VMO) and the Federation of Vegetable Marketing
Co-operative Societies, Ltd. As at the end of December 2012, 203 farms
participate in the Organic Farming Support Service, producing about five
tonnes of organic agricultural products each day for the local market. At
present, there are more than 37 organic vegetable retail outlets under the
VMO marketing network, including large supermarkets, shops in MTR
stations, health food stores and the Lions Nature Education Centre outlet
at Tsiu Hang, Sai Kung, etc. Besides, AFCD supports the Hong Kong Organic
Resource Centre in its endeavours to educate the public on organic farming
and promote the certification of organic products.
AFCD also organises from time to time talks and on-farm demonstrations for
farmers, briefing them on improved varieties of agricultural products and
new farming techniques. Quality produce developed in recent years include
red flesh rock melon, seedless water melon, yellow flesh water melon, long
horn pepper, round eggplant, potato and organic strawberry, etc.
The Government has also actively assisted the industry in developing
quality brand names. At present, 263 vegetable farms in the territory have
participated in the Accredited Farm Scheme. AFCD helps the industry set up
weekend farmers' markets and organises large-scale carnivals, such as the
annual FarmFest which attracts over 100 participating local farmers and
fishermen and more than 100,000 visitors. These events have helped
showcase local agricultural and fishery products to the wider public, in
the interest of promoting local brand names.
Moreover, the VMO has since 1988-89 set up the Agricultural Development
Fund with funding derived from its operating profits. The Fund enables
AFCD and the farming industry to launch agricultural development
programmes. Apart from the above-mentioned programmes and activities,
notable examples include the Controlled Environment Agriculture and
Hydroponic technology which is recently introduced for use in local
farming. Between 2007 and 2011, the Fund has provided about $130 million
for funding projects. About $200 million is currently available under the
Fund.
AFCD is also administering three loan funds (including the Kadoorie
Agriculture Aid Loan Fund; the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund; and the Vegetable
Marketing Organisation Loan Fund) which provide loans to farmers for farm
development and operation. The total accumulated deposit under the three
Funds now stands at $45 million. These Funds are noted for their
user-friendly application procedures, low interest rates, capacity to
provide unsecure loans up to $130,000, and flexible repayment period.
Between 2007 and 2011, loans of nearly $40 million had been offered to 414
farmers under the three Funds.
In recent years, AFCD has published and distributed "A Guide to Hong Kong
Leisure Farms" to promote leisure farming. An interactive webpage on
leisure farms (fedvmcs.org/farm_index.php)
has also been promulgated for use by members of the public who are
interested in visiting the diverse range of leisure farms in Hong Kong. By
facilitating diversification, this contributes to the sustainable
development of the local farming industry.
The Government will carry on with its efforts on the above fronts to
support the sustainable development of the local farming industry.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) It is the Government's existing policy to facilitate agricultural
development through the provision of basic infrastructure and technical
support, as well as low interest loans to farmers. At the same time, we
make full use of the Agricultural Development Fund under the VMO to
facilitate the further development of local agriculture, enhance the
productivity and business viability of the industry, develop modern and
environmental-friendly farming technologies with emphasis on preservation
of natural resources and the agricultural ecology, thereby helping to
produce quality and high-value agricultural products that are safe for
consumption. The Government will continue to adopt the above measures for
supporting the sustainable development of the local farming industry.
(b) Most agricultural land leases in Hong Kong were granted in early
years. Unlike land leases granted for residential, commercial or other
building developments in recent years for which a building covenant is
stipulated, generally speaking, the agricultural land leases do not
contain provisions requiring the owners to put the land to use and not to
leave it idle, and free transaction is not prohibited. There will be no
contravention as long as the use of the land is in compliance with the
relevant legislation and lease conditions.
To assist farmers who wish to engage in farming, AFCD plays a facilitative
role by matching prospective tenants with the landowners upon learning
that there are land owners who intend to rent out their agricultural land.
The farmers and landowners freely enter into tenancy agreements after
negotiations. Ultimately it is for the landowners to decide whether or not
to rent out their land for agricultural use. Over the past five years
(2007 to 2011), AFCD had assisted 73 farmers in identifying land for
agricultural rehabilitation covering a total area of about 11.1 hectares.
(c) In keeping with the free-market principle, the Government does not set
any targets for local agricultural production. Nor does the Government
provide any direct financial subsidy to the sector or protect the price
level of local agricultural products. The Government will continue to go
about supporting the sustainable development of local agriculture through
the provision of basic infrastructure and technical support, as well as
low interest loans.
Primary production (including agriculture, fisheries, mining and
quarrying) is insignificant in Hong Kong in terms of its share of the GDP
and total employment, as the city is a predominantly urban economy. As
such, redevelopment of the agricultural industry by a significant scale as
a means to raise the share of local produce in local food supply does not
appear to be a practicable proposition. Nonetheless, the Government will
continue to render support to those who intend to engage in agricultural
production and promote the sustainable development of the local
agricultural industry through the provision of infrastructure, technical
support and low-interest loans.
(d) Statistics showing the area of land used for the production of
vegetable, flower, field crop and orchard from 1997 to 2012 are set out in
Table 4.
Statistics showing the percentage of locally-produced vegetables and
fruits in the overall supply of the respective products from 1997 to 2011
are set out in Table 5. (Note: The percentages of flowers and field crops
are not available since the Government does not keep separate breakdowns
for them in our production statistics.)
(e) Between 1997 and 2012, the Town Planning Board (TPB) processed a total
of 55 applications for rezoning land in the "Agriculture" ("AGR") zone to
other land uses. Of these applications, 11 were approved mainly for uses
including residential, village type development, Government, institution
or community uses, and open storage, etc. They involve about 15.4 hectares
of land in total. During the same period, TPB processed a total of 1 734
applications for planning permission involving sites within "AGR" zone
(excluding those applications involving sites that straddle other land use
zones). Among them, 1 070 applications were approved, mainly for the New
Territories Exempted House development, Government, institution or
community uses, recreational use and temporary uses, etc. Given the large
number of applications in question and duplication of sites under
application, we cannot provide relevant statistics on the total area
involved.
Where a lot owner applies for lease modification or land exchange to
implement the use approved by TPB, the Government will impose suitable
conditions when granting approval, including a full market premium
payable. It should be noted that for cases involving rezoning or planning
permission approved by TPB, the owners concerned may not necessarily
submit application to the Lands Department (LandsD) for lease modification
or land exchange immediately or within a short period of time.
A summary of the lease modification or land exchange transactions executed
and registered in the Land Registry is available on LandsD's website (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/exc_mod/index.htm).
As LandsD does not maintain a list of land transactions or relevant
statistics based on the original uses, statistical data of cases involving
agricultural land are not available.
The number of applications for rezoning and planning permission involving
"AGR" zone broken down by year are listed in Table 6.
(f) The number of farms engaged in crop production, the number of organic
farms and the number of farmers engaged in crop production from 2001 to
2012 are set out in Table 7. (Note: Statistics from 1997 to 2000, and the
number of farmers who own the farms and the number of farm employees, are
not available since the Government did not collect such statistics at the
material time.)
Ends/Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:20
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Tables to LCQ20