ST ROSE OF LIMA’S COLLEGE

2021-2022 LIBERAL STUDIES

Module 5 Public Health
Food Safety

Name: _________________________ Class: __________ ( ) Date: __________________

Enquiry questions
1. Can the development of science and technology help maintain public health? Why?
Ÿ Study the use of health supplements
2. How do different sectors of society (e.g. individual, government and international organizations)
help maintain and promote public health?
Ÿ Study the food safety problems of imported food (e.g. vegetables) in Hong Kong
Ÿ Study the food safety supervision in Hong Kong
Ÿ Study the new agricultural policy in Hong Kong

Knowledge Box –
How is food produced and how can scientific evidence assess food safety?

Chain of production
Primary industry " Production " Processing " Packaging
$
Consumer ! Retail ! Wholesale ! Transportation

Food additives are often used nowadays to improve the durability, taste, colour and appearance of food
and prolong its expiry date. Different types of food additives, such as preservatives, colourings,
sweeteners and acids are used. Excessive food additives are harmful to human health. Scientific
evidence is used in food risk assessment, e.g. detect potential danger, the excessive use of certain
chemical (e.g. food additive) in food, and the suitability of the food to certain people, etc.

Confirm the harmful Assess how the harmful

Food Risk Assessment
effects of food effects affect the citizens

Reference webpage:
- The Centre for Food Safety: http://www.cfs.gov.hk/

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 Source A Integrated newspaper report
The Social Sciences Research Centre of the HKU interviewed 1 053 residents aged 18 or above to
understand their situation of taking health supplements. The survey revealed that nearly 60% of the
respondents took health supplements to be ‘healthier’. However, registered dieticians said that it was
difficult to calculate the actual energy intake of these products and thus hard to reach a balanced diet.
Nutrients are also easily destroyed during the process of production. Moreover, many young people take
supplements due to trends. They keep switching to new products. However, it takes weeks or even months
for these supplements to come into effect. Constantly switching to new products only means a waste.

A six-year-old girl did not eat fish or meat. Parents bought fish oil and vitamin pills to supplement her diet.
However, both products contained Vitamin D. Long-term usage might lead to overdose poisoning. It was
also found that health supplements usually contained much more nutrients than our body needed, e.g.
vitamin C capsules normally contain 1,000 mg while we only need 40 mg daily. The same happens to fish
oil capsules, which we only need 500 mg of omega 3 per day. Advertisements usually lack this information.

Companies tend to use words like ‘this product is for people concerned with XX disease’ to catch
consumers’ attention. However, this is misleading as health supplements are not registered as ‘medicine’
and thus their effectiveness and quality are not assured. Consumers may wrongly believe that the products
can cure the disease. Also, insufficient regulations make various health supplement easily available in the
market.

1. Using your own knowledge, account for the popularity of health supplement mentioned in Source A.

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2. What are the factors affecting people’s consumption of health supplements? Explain.

Factors How does the factor affect people’s consumption of health supplements?
Scientific evidence

Promotion / discount

Spokesperson / TV
commercial

Manufacturer / origin

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 Part 2 Imported Food and Food Safety in Hong Kong
Enquiry question: Is imported food safe to eat? Why or why not?

Source A – A news report dated 28th Nov, 2018

Almost all food imported into Hong Kong by air getting through without safety documents,
government auditor finds

More than 90 per cent of food consumed locally last year was imported, with a total value of over
HK$205 billion (US$26.3 billion). More than nine in 10 food products imported by air were given
official permission to enter Hong Kong despite having no documents (i.e. an original or photocopy of
the health certificate, or import permission) to prove they were safe, according to an Audit Commission
report.
The centre argued it was a “trade facilitation measure” rather than an inadequacy, and that its staff could
“exercise flexibility” after checking the information during the licence application and assessing the risk
based on the track record of the importers.
The commission also found more than 110 consignments of chilled pork were transported by an
unlicensed vehicle from mainland China on a daily basis for over four months – but food safety officials
stationed at the Man Kam To checkpoint said they were not aware of the illegal vehicle.
Hui Wai-kin, chairman of the Pork Traders General Association, said an unlicensed vehicle transporting
chilled meat without being inspected could be a form of smuggling.“ If pork was smuggled in and didn’t
go through proper quarantine procedures, who can ensure its safety?” Hui said. “They must do the job
of gatekeeping well, especially when several provinces on the mainland are affected by African swine
fever,” he said, referring to the disease which causes deadly haemorrhagic fever in domesticated pigs but
is not harmful to humans.”

Source B – extracted from The Standard (28th April, 2020)

Study shows more than half of vegetables tainted with pesticides residue

Local study shows 70 percent of vegetables are tainted with pesticides residue, with two samples of
organic vegetables breaching legal limits. Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre from the Hong Kong
Baptist University found a high percentage of conventional and self-proclaimed organic vegetables were
found containing pesticide residue. The study has collected a total of 58 organic and non-organic
vegetable samples, including choi sum, pak choi, amaranthus and spinach.

The samples were purchased from 149 venues including wet markets, shops and organic farms across
all 18 districts to test the presence of heavy metal and 352 types pesticide residues. Seventy percent of
the vegetable samples collected, 41 out of 58, contains pesticide residues regulated under European
Union standards. More than half of them, 34 out of 58, contain pesticide residues exceeding the EU’s
Maximum Residue Limit.

Those containing pesticide residue beyond the EU standard include 3 mainland certified organic
vegetables, 21 local self-proclaimed organic vegetables, 2 mainland self-proclaimed organic vegetables,
and eight non-organic vegetables from mainland and Hong Kong. The study also found two self-
proclaimed organic vegetables containing pesticide residues beyond the Hong Kong standard’s legally
tolerated limit.

“Compared to last year, there’s a slight increase in the number of organic produce stores in Hong Kong,
so there’s a slight increasing trend of selling fake organic produce in the market,” said professor Jonathan
Wong Woon-chung, Director of HKORC.

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 He suggested that consumers should look for stalls with certified organic produce with certificates
displayed in the shop or organic labels when purchasing organic vegetables. “When going to a wet
market you need to be careful for stores that only label organic vegetables by hand writing, and ask them
where they produce it, where the farm is and how they produce it,” Wong added.

HKORC urged the government to legislate and regulate the organic product industry and Hong Kong
Customs should not ignore the center's request on investigating stalls that sell counterfeit organic goods.

1. How heavy do we rely on imported food in Hong Kong? Explain with reference to Source A.

2a. What are the food safety problems shown in Sources A and B? Explain.

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b. How do the problems mentioned in the sources above affect the quality of life of Hong Kong
citizens? Explain.
Impacts on Quality of Life

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 Part 3 Food Safety Supervision in Hong Kong
Enquiry question: Is the food safety supervision in Hong Kong effective in ensuring public health?
What are the roles of different sectors in society help ensuring food safety?

Preparation task - What methods are used to monitor food safety? What are the roles of the
government in ensuring food safety?

Watch the following video and fill in the blanks. Match the methods used and government roles with the
correct description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yFBR4RlK44 Introduction to Centre for Food Safety

Roles of government
A. Role of education B. Role of policy revision
C. Role of policy execution and implementation D. Role of information release
E. Role of policy promotion F. Role of crisis management
G. Role of risk communication H. Role of legislation
I. Role of policy formulation J. Role of risk assessment

Methods used Explanation / Examples Roles of the

government
Publicity and Educate citizens in the reading of food labelling, correct ways to
education store and handle pre-packaged and non-prepackaged food
products, etc.
Set standard/
set up
regulations

*Genetically modified foods are foods produced

from ____________ that have had changes introduced into their
__________
Scientific test Analyse __________________ hazards such as _______________
and __________________ hazards so as to assess _____________
_________________
Inform public The Centre for Food Safety has conducted coronavirus test on over
of the risk/ 1,000 food samples. All were tested negative.
scientific tests Gov. News: December 27, 2020

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Policy The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) announced today (January 24)
execution that it has suspended processing applications for importing poultry
and poultry products from Japan with immediate effect until further
notice." We took the decision following confirmation of an outbreak
of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 in the city of Miyazaki
in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan," a CFS spokesman said.
CFS: January 24, 2011
Set up In setting relevant legislation, reference is made to local and
regulations overseas ____________________________, _________________
______________ as well as views from the ___________________
_________________________.

Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132)

Preservatives in Food Regulation Section 3 (Restrictions on sale etc.
of food containing food additive)
(1) Subject to this section, a person shall not import, manufacture
for sale or sell any article of food that contains a food additive.
(2) Any relevant food may contain the permitted food additive
specified in relation to its scheduled food category but in a
proportion that does not exceed the maximum permitted level.
Investigation The Centre conducts investigation on ____________________
incidents, including investigation on ________________________
____________________ at food premises and manages food safety
incidents. If any food is found to pose a risk to human health, a
_____________ will be initiated.
Evaluation of Assess effectiveness of current policies, revise and amend whenever
policies / necessary, e.g. adding provisions to the Food Safety Ordinance,
standards updating food safety standards
Communicate An Expert Committee on Food Safety has been established to listen
risk findings to different views on food safety issues.
with __________ collaboration is promoted to enhance communication
stakeholders
of the ____________ with the _______ and the _________. Other
than a trade consultation forum conducted regularly, there is also a
_______________________ which provides platform for different
stakeholders to exchange views on food safety issues.
In addition, the Centre maintains close ties with various
___________________________________ and share professional
views with other countries.
Communicate Promote the policy to the Legislative Council and the public, and to
policy details hold a consultation about the policy. By doing so, it can explain the
with policy to the public and collect opinions from them.
stakeholders
More video links about food safety
1. 鏗鏘集 誰知盤中飧 2013-11-24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DADGzbGjsbw
2. 鏗鏘集 細味盤中飧 2013-12-01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zuZYqmcP6U
3. 鏗鏘集 識食有機 2013-06-17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__yxO9b1huE

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Case study about African Swine Fever (ASF)
東張西望 | 非洲豬瘟又襲港 香港人被迫戒? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imjfWsCmKY

Different stakeholders and their concerns

Stakeholders Viewpoints What are their main

concerns?
Hong Kong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsw7jaraS9c
Pig Farmers (東方日報 A1：政府防疫失魂 驗漏非洲豬瘟
May, 2019)

Ÿ Worried that their pigs would be infected, and this

would cause great financial damage
Ÿ Did not think that the government has done enough
to prevent African Swine Fever spreading to HK e.g.
the slaughter house has no disinfection facilities
Ÿ Virus could still spread to the community via
transportation as long as there are pigs from the
Mainland
Sophia Chan, Source: The Guardian (11th May 2019)
Hong Kong’s
secretary for Ÿ the culling was necessary so that thorough cleansing
food and and disinfection could be conducted. Operations at
health the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse would be suspended
until the disinfection work was completed
Ÿ will enhance the surveillance and testing of pigs, and
currently we collect samples from pigs with ASF
symptoms for testing, and the government will step
up the sampling of other pigs for testing in the future
Democratic Source: The Pulse (19th January 2019)
Councillor
(Civic Party) Ÿ Many pigs died in the Mainland, but some people
could just make it to frozen meat as they are
cheaper, and they could be imported to Hong Kong
Professor, Source: The Pulse (19th January 2019)
College of
Veterinary Ÿ A strong virus
Medicine and Ÿ Pig waste and food waste is a big issue
Life Sciences, Ÿ Could not really ensure that the virus in the food
HK City U waste had died if it was in there
Ÿ Virus could stay alive for several months even on
frozen meat and cured & processed ham

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Ways to reduce the risks of Hong Kong people consuming tainted food from the mainland

1. Matching: classify the followings into the work of “individuals”, “Food importers,
distributors and retailers”, “Hong Kong local government” and “Chinese government”:

Responsibilities Stakeholders

Purchase food from reliable retailers / eat in

(a)
credible restaurants
Better communication and cooperation with
(b) mainland’s departments to ensure tainted food
is not transported to Hong Kong
Tighter supervision and regulations to reduce
(c)
water and soil pollution

(d) Reduce / stop imports from high risk regions

Report cases of food poisoning to facilitate

(e)
the tracking of food source
More frequent sample tests / increase the
(f) percentage of samples taken from food
produced in high risk region
Only import food from registered farms or
(g)
companies

Keep a clear transaction record to facilitate

(h)
the tracking of food source
Encourage the use of organic fertilizer and
(i) pesticide to reduce the use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticide

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Part 4 New Agricultural Policy in Hong Kong – Towards a Sustainable Future
Enquiry question: Is the New Agricultural Policy sustainable?

Source A What is the New Agricultural Policy?

Background
Hong Kong’s local agriculture has a long history and is famous for supplying good quality fresh
agricultural produce. However, the agricultural sector has been diminishing over time as Hong Kong
evolves towards a predominantly urbanized and service-oriented economy. The Government has
proposed to adopt a new policy encompassing more proactive support to modernize our agricultural
industry and maximize its contributions to the well-being of society.
Why should I care about it?
The maintenance of a vibrant local agricultural production would help diversify our food supply and
reduce our reliance on imported food, whilst meeting our aspiration and demand for food with high
safety standard. Also, the new agricultural policy would promote the employment. It may provide job
opportunities to lesser-skilled workers and provide new platforms for young people who aspire to
develop a career in modern agriculture. Members of the younger generation may gain a deeper
appreciation of how nature interacts with human activities and how the food culture has developed
through observing or participating in farming operations ranging from field preparation, sowing,
weeding to harvesting. Care about the development of local agricultural development not only helps
improve our health, but also provide more career choices for all of us. Thus we should concern about
the proposed new agricultural policy and the suggested support measures, in order to promote
sustainable agricultural development in HK.

Sustainable Development and Proposed Supportive Measures

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201601/14/P201601140558.htm (Press release, 2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rfoq1Zhlgg (落實新農業政策 設五億發展基金 (13.1.2016)
1. Establishing an Agricultural Park (Agri- 2. Promotion of other auxiliary activities
Park) related to Agriculture
Ÿ Investment of basic infrastructures in the Agri-
park will be funded by the government, AFCD
will provide ___________________________
_____________ to the farmers in the Agri-Park
Ÿ Agri-Park will be a base for testing new
agricultural methods for commercial production
as well as promoting application of pioneering
technology to agriculture to ________________
_____________________

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3. Strengthening support for farmers
Ÿ Assisting local farmers in _________________
________________ through:
_______________
a) Branding (建⽴品牌)
b) Group promotion and advertising
c) Setting up more weekend markets in
different districts and Farm-fests to provide
a low-cost method for farmers to link up
directly with consumers
d) Strengthen the liaison work with the various
stakeholders involved
Ÿ To coordinate their efforts and area of interest
4. Establishment of a Sustainable
Agricultural Development Fund (SADF)
500 million
Ÿ Provide funding in the form of grants for
scientific as well as adaptive research and
studies relating to agricultural development
Ÿ Support the transfer of knowledge and
training, improvement of agricultural
infrastructure, development of local brands
and related promotional activities, and
exploration of new marketing channels
Ÿ Support the modernization of the tools and
facilities so as to _____________________
________________________

Source B The Pulse：Lunar New Year Special: Local farming and agricultural policy & local
chicken farmers (start – 5:02, 8:00 – 9:41)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWs5llflG5E&t=25s

• HK relies heavily on imported food. Only _______ hectares of farmland left.

• Farmers’ views towards the new agricultural policy:
Positive
- The government starts to pay attention to the agricultural sector
Negative
Too expensive to acquire land from the private sector to build the Agri-park, HKD$ __ billion
is
spent on an ______ hectare ‘Agri-Park’.
‚Focuses too much on modern farming technology e.g. ______________ but neglect the
problems brought about by the new farming technologies (use it as a way to change the use
of ______________ land e.g. build a factory-like buildings for hydroponics on natural land);
blindly follow successful cases in other countries e.g. Singapore
ƒLack of ______________ and ____________ planning i.e. support local farming e.g. need to
encourage the buying and production of _________ produce; helps the local farmers to farm
in the __________ farmland

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 Source C ATV 時事追擊 - 新農業政策 2015-03-28 (11.30-end)
Leisure Farms
Mingle Farm (名樂漁莊)
- - Provide _____________ facilities, entertainments.
- - Spokesman claimed that Leisure Farm will not harm local agriculture. Meanwhile, they are working
on some ___________________ activities to promote agriculture like hydroponics and a nearby
_________________ is also available for educational visit on booking.

Tai Tong Lychee Garden (大棠荔枝山莊)

- - Provide recreational activities, e.g. _____________________, _________________________, etc.
- - Owner disagreed that their practice is harmful to agricultural development and the authority should
loosen the land use restriction for Leisure Farms.

The Conservancy Association (長春社) :

• The practice in most leisure farms are going against the idea/principle of “____________________
• ____________________________” as they are profit-oriented and most of the facilities and
attractions are recreational. It harms the agricultural development.
Suggestions:
• Set up a ____________________ for agricultural and non-agricultural land use
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC7PPgZ2QtI

Source D Local farmers’ main concerns

Background:
Local Agriculture is out competed by imported vegetables from mainland not only because of its
relatively low price, but also because the loss of farmland (landlord may not pro-long their rental
contract). Hong Kong Government finally addressed agricultural problem in 2012 Policy Address,
proposed to establish an Agricultural Park , set up subsidy and fund to promote advanced farming
method.
Comments/criticisms from local farmers:
- If the government is willing to provide them with sufficient supporting measures to ensure their
sale and operating environment, they would definitely continue to farm and try their very best to
boost the output.
- The proposed policy does not cater for all as it is very likely that farmers will only be allowed to
farm in a designated area.
- Developers are given the right by the government to change their land use as long as they withhold
of 400 hectare of farmland. Hence, most of the farmers are being forced by the developers to return
the farmland and their livelihood is affected. In the meantime, government has low incentive to
help the affected farmers to look for another piece of farmland.
- It may take at least 8-9 years for the establishment of Agri-Park , what should farmers do for their
living in that period?
- The Food and Health Bureau has very limited knowledge about farmers and agriculture as the
proposed Agri-Park will not allow farmers to stay overnight (farming is a 24/7 job) and the
contracts are short-term basis.
- 蔡和軍 has experienced the loss of farmland , his story allows us to understand that it is not easy
for farmers to seek another farmable land because the lack of government support and unfavorable
guidelines/policies.
Source: 鏗鏘集：遲來的春天? 2015-03-16

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Source E Stakeholders’ view towards the Agricultural Park (Agri-Park)
Stakeholders
Economist BENNY Chan Kwok-wai
Farmer Ho Moon-yi
Lam Hon-ming, professor of the School of
Life Sciences, CUHK
Source: HK01「農業園」能否成為香港農業
救命草? (5th April, 2021)
Viewpoint
Only 4,400 people engage in agriculture, making
up a mere 0.11 percent of the total work force. It
only contributes 0.1% to the local GDP.
The corporate management style of the proposed
Agri-Park does not suit traditional farming
practice. In conventional agriculture, farmers live
on the land, next to their workplaces but the Agri-
Park will not have living spaces for farmers.
Centralising farmland can facilitate the
application of technology in the field. For
example, youngster may want to apply AI
technology (e.g. precision farming) in
agriculture. The Agri-Park can attract young
talents and be a testing point for new technology.
We can also develop new seeds that suits the
climate of Hong Kong.

Source F
古洞南農業園農地平整工程不理想 遭地盤式對待恐難復耕 環保團體憂牽連附近河溪促改善
- 20210318 - 港聞 - 有線新聞 CABLE News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bni1hLtYfw

Problem: Undesirable formation work (平整工程)

The followings are found on the land which will be used for the Agri-Park:
Ÿ ________ and ____________ are poured on it
Ÿ Dumper trucks driving on the land

Impacts
Ÿ Detrimental to the soil à ________________________ are found in the soil à may be
damaged due to formation works à difficult to restore the condition of soil à doubtful if the
land can be used for farming in the future
Ÿ ___________ pollution à affects the nearby farmers who use the water

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1. Refer to the sources above and your own knowledge, to what extent do you think the new
agricultural policy facilitate sustainable development in Hong Kong?
Aspect Sustainable Not Sustainable
Economic (i) Establishment of a Sustainable (a) Very small economic significance
Agricultural Development Fund (Source E)
(SADF) ( ___________ ) _____________________________
à facilitates R&D related to _____________________________
agricultural development, the _____________________________
transfer of knowledge and training, _____________________________
improvement of agricultural _____________________________
infrastructure, development of local _____________________________
brands and related promotional
activities, and exploration of new (b) Too expensive to acquire land from
marketing channels the private sector to build the Agri-
à Support the modernization of the park (Source B)
tools and facilities so as to increase à___________________________
productivity and efficiency _____________________________
à Improves GDP share of the
agricultural sector
(ii) Provides jobs for lesser-skilled
workers & brings opportunities to
young people who aspire to develop
a career in modern agriculture
(___________)
Social • diversifies our food supply and reduces • Lack of long-term and holistic
our reliance on imported food planning i.e. support local farming /
( ___________ ) changing the mindset of the younger
• meets consumers’ aspirations and generation ( ___________ )
demand for food with a high safety • Not allowing __________________
standard ( ___________ ) __________________ (Source E)
• gain a deeper appreciation of how
nature interacts with human activities
and how the food culture has
developed ( ___________ )
• leisure farms have been set up for
people to experience farming during
holidays ( ___________ )
• Facilitates the use of ___________
___________ and development of
____________________ (Source E)

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Environment • helps natural resources conservation,
enrichment of biodiversity and
reduction of the carbon footprint in the
food supply chain ( ___________ )
• p_______________ farming: use AI
technology to reduce the use of water
resources and energy resources.
(Source E)
• For the Agri-park, only around 80
hectares of natural farmland being
preserved (around ____________ of
the size of agricultural land currently
under active farming) (Source B)
• focuses too much on modern farming
technology e.g. hydroponics but
neglect the problems brought about
by the new farming technologies (use
it as a way to change the use of
agricultural land e.g. build a factory-
like buildings for hydroponics on
natural land) ( ___________ )
Organic substances in soil are
damaged due to
____________________ à difficult
to ___________________________
__________________ (Source F)
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2016 DSE Paper 1 Q1

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(a) Describe the trends in agriculture in Hong Kong as shown in Source A.

(b) From Sources A and B, identify and explain two factors that might be influencing the current
development of agriculture in Hong Kong.

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(c) ‘Urban farming will improve the quality of life of people in Hong Kong.’ Explain how the
sources support this claim.

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 Synopsis-New Agricultural Policy

Program title: 新農業政策 (時事追擊 2015-3-28)

Module 6 Energy Technology and the Environment
_____________________________________________________________________________
Background:
• Hong Kong agricultural sector has been diminishing its value over time because of the high degree
of urbanization and its over-reliance on tertiary production. In 2015, government announced to
undertake a review of the existing agricultural policy and carry out public consultation in the hope
to Over-commercialized
- Developers will provide a well-designed services and supporting facilities, such as fences,
powered-gates, individual supply of water, electricity and sewage system, carparks, etc.
• Impropriate selling technique
- Giving false hope to potential buyers that government will provide handsome compensations for
land acquisition in the near future.
• No proper policy to regulate the speculation practice
- Those who see farming as their livelihood will suffer the most.
王震宇(Chairman of an Investment Company) said farmland investment is a high-risk investment ,
investors should consider/assess their knowledge in farming , sustainability , environmental uncertainty
implement a new policy to cope with present-day circumstances and needs. The proposed consultation
stressed on modernization of the agricultural industry and maximization of contributions to our society.

Buying and selling of farmland

It is reported that the market of farmland is getting more and more popular among investors and
developers due to the decreasing ‘admission requirement” and promising profits.
- It is more affordable for investors now as it costs much lesser after the practice of “subdividing of
farmland” (no mortgage will be provided for farmland purchase (all must be paid in cash, it could
cost 2-3 million to buy one piece of farmland in the past). Similar to other property, the subdivided
farmland is allowed for sell and rental, some investors admitted that they are not going to do any
farming activity.
- Some investors are so lucky that they profited nearly a double in less than a year while some would
like to have long term investment by renting their land to others and receive $2000 rental income
per month.
Criticisms/Short-comings:
• Unlike other foreign countries, Hong Kong investors merely see farmland as short-term investment
and they are not as experienced as developers in handling of land acquisition.
The Conservancy Association (長春社) :
• Many farmland are left uncultivated or turned into recreational use, for example , Leisure Farms,
Wargame Centre.

Leisure Farms
Since 2011 government has published a guidebook for Leisure Farms called A Guide to Hong Kong
Leisure Farms. Currently, there are 123 leisure farms in cooperation.
Mingle Farm (名樂漁莊)
- Provide camping facility , entertainments.
- Gained popularity, especial among families.

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- According to Lease conditions from Land Department, no additional building structure is allowed to be
built on farmland. Thus, Mingle Farm received warning letter(s) because of their unauthorized building
part (restructured from a container).
- Spokesman claimed that Leisure Farm will not harm local agriculture. Meanwhile, they are working on
some educational activities to promote agriculture like Hydroponics (水耕) and a nearby fish pond is
also available for educational visit on booking.
Tai Tong Lychee Garden (大棠荔枝山莊)
- Provide recreational activities, farming workshop, organic farming visits,ect.
- According to Lease conditions from Land Department, no additional building structure is allowed to be
built on farmland. Thus, an office, a bridge and one of the toilet were demolished on request.
- Owner disagreed that their practice is harmful to agricultural development and the authority should
loosen the land use restriction for Leisure Farms.

The Conservancy Association (長春社) :

• The practice in most leisure farms are going against the idea/principle of “Farmland for Agricultural
Use” as they are profit-oriented and most of the facilities and attractions are recreational. It harms the
agricultural sector development.

Proposed New Agricultural Policy

- Establish an Agricultural Park
- Set up a fund to promote Sustainable Agricultural Development
- Promote researches on Agricultural Technology
- Strengthen educational activity
- Private land acquisition for agriculture
Criticisms:
- Cannot protect the farmland which are scattered in different parts of Hong Kong as it did not pay
attention to the problematic practice of farmland purchase.
- 王震宇(Chairman of an Investment Company) pointed out that anything which has government
intervene will lead to imbalanced distribution. In addition, most of the members in Food and
Health Bureau are doctors, they know very little about agricultural and not qualified for the task.
- It is a waste of public fund to acquire private land (as the landlord of Long Valley confessed he
would not say yes unless government could give him a relatively high compensation.
Suggestions:
- The Conservancy Association(長春社) suggested the government to overview foreign countries’
practice :
• Set up a reasonable ratio for agricultural and non-agricultural land use
• Restrict certain degree of recreational use of farmland in order to sustain adequate farming
operation.
• Rethink the proposition of local agriculture and the Self-sufficiency rate of different fruits and
vegetables.

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