Farmers, green groups cite sharp decline in local agricultural land

Farmers in the New Territories joined green groups on Thursday, to demand that the government withdraw plans to turn over 98 hectares of farmland for residential construction.

The North East New Territories New Development Areas project aims at redevelopment of Kwu Tung North, Fanling North, and Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling. The plan is to release, in total, approximately 533 hectares of land for redevelopment. About 54,000 housing units, or 40 percent of those intended for public house, will be constructed under the plan.If the plan were carried out, farmlands would disappear in the Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling development areas. Fanling North development area would be left with only 9 hectares of farmland after the redevelopment.

Voicing dissatisfaction over the project, senior campaign officer for the Conservancy Association, Roy Ng hei-man, said agriculture could play a bigger role in the community and that they should co-exist.

"The farmland can consume food waste produced by the community. In return, the community can provide a market demand to the organic farms," said Ng.

Though Hong Kong relies on the mainland for its food supply, Ng urged the government to support local agriculture and preserve farmland.

Farmland has declined for the past two decades. Currently, Hong Kong has less than 6,000 hectares of farmland remaining. That's a 30 percent decline from two decades ago. Statistics from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department show that, up to 2010, about 4,094 hectares farmlands were idle.

Chairman of the Organic Farmers Association, Wong Yu-wing, who owns a 1.1 hectare organic farm, described it as "absurd" to eliminate the farmlands, saying organic farms have grown in numbers and the demand for organic food has increased in the past few years.

Despite the upbeat outlook for the market, Wong said it is very hard for farmers to expand since there is a lack of available farmland for rent. Wong, who described himself as "lucky" to find a piece of farmland for expansion, said every year, only one or two are able to find farmland to expand their operations.

About 80 percent of the farmland in Ma Shi Po village, situated in the Fanling North development area, has been sold to developers. Developers will leave the farmlands unattended for years before the government decides to change the land use into residential land, said Gloria Chang, campaign manager of Green Peace.

According to its annual report, Henderson Land Development Company has a land bank of 389 hectares in the New Territories. The company also owns about 47 hectares of land in the three development areas related to the project. Statistics from the government and annual reports of five major local developers showed that by 2009, the developers have amassed a land bank of 1,279 hectares. The government on the other hand, has only 320 hectares.

The government launched the third-stage of public consultation on the project on June 19. The consultation will end on August 31. The groups and farmers will appeal to the Planning Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department before the consultation ends.

Liu Chor-hong contributed to the story.

stushadow@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 08/17/2012 page1)