LCQ21: Measures to support the agriculture and fisheries industry
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Question:
It has been reported that the traditional agriculture and fisheries industry is facing the challenges of transformation and sales promotion. Regarding the measures to support the agriculture and fisheries industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Government currently assists fishermen and farmers in overcoming the problem of capital shortfall through various measures (e.g. the Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund and the Farm Improvement Scheme), which enable them to enhance production efficiency and product quality with the use of modernised equipment or technologies, whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if so, of the details;
(2) as there are views pointing out that fishermen and farmers generally lack market information and marketing skills to sell agricultural and fisheries products, whether the Government has, apart from organising the FarmFest annually and developing the "Local Fresh" mobile app and shopping website, considered providing them with training related to sales and promotion, as well as establishing more platforms and channels for selling agricultural and fisheries products; and
(3) as there are views that the supply chain of local agricultural and fisheries products is plagued by the problem of insufficient preservation and transportation facilities, how the Government improves the logistics infrastructure in areas for agriculture and fisheries uses, especially the cold chain logistics and transport network; of the Government's plans in place to assist fishermen and farmers in setting up a modern storage and distribution system, thereby reducing the loss of and damage to their products and expand their sales network?
Reply:
President,
The Government is actively taking forward the various initiatives under the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries, with a view to promoting the upgrading and transformation of the agriculture and fisheries industries towards modernisation and sustainable development. Such initiatives include providing financial support and technical support, as well as improving the marketing environment, thereby meeting the development needs of the industries on various fronts.
The reply to the question raised by Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung is as follows:
(1) In terms of financial support, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), through the Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund and the Sustainable Agricultural Development Fund (SADF) of HK$1 billion each, assists the local agriculture and fisheries industries to switch to sustainable and high value-added mode of operations, thereby boosting the overall competitiveness of the industries. The Equipment Improvement Project and the Farm Improvement Scheme under the two respective Funds have also been providing financial assistance to eligible local fishermen/farmers for purchasing modernised and mechanised operational equipment and materials to enhance their competitiveness.
Since the establishment of the two Funds, progress has been made with initial achievements, benefitting more than 4 570 fishermen/farmers. The AFCD reviews from time to time the effectiveness of approved or completed projects under the two Funds in fostering the sustainable development of the agriculture and fisheries industries. Upon project completion, the grantee should submit a final report and an audited account, specifying the project's financial position and benefits brought to the industry, and should share the achievements with the industries. In addition, the AFCD will also organise seminars and sharing sessions for the trade.
Besides, the Government, through the AFCD, the Fish Marketing Organization (FMO) and the Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO), manages six fisheries and agricultural loan funds which provide fishermen/farmers with low-interest loans to help them switch to more sustainable operations or further enhance and expand their business. The AFCD and the FMO/VMO have been monitoring the operation of these funds on a continuous basis. Over the past five years, a total of about HK$500 million of loans were approved under these fisheries and agricultural loan funds, benefitting more than 1 660 fishermen/farmers.
(2) The AFCD and the FMO/VMO have been providing proactive assistance to the industries to promote their local premium agricultural and fisheries products, including the organisation of major events such as the 75th National Day Farm and Gourmet Festival and the FarmFest, participation in food exhibitions (e.g. Vegetarian Food Asia, Food Expo, HOFEX and Organic Aquaculture Festival), development and setting up of the "Local Fresh" e-commerce platform and a physical store, collaboration with retailers to establish regular sales channels, and organisation of holiday bazaars and thematic sales activities in supermarket chains. The AFCD and the FMO/VMO will continue to explore online and offline sales channels, identify more partners for collaboration and step up the promotional efforts. We are also actively promoting leisure farming and fisheries, including allowing the public to taste fresh local agricultural and fisheries products at farms and fish farms, which will help publicise and promote the products.
To further enhance the competitiveness of local agricultural and fisheries products and strengthen sales and promotion, the AFCD plans to establish a unified new brand for safe, low-carbon and premium local agricultural and fisheries products covering various locally produced agricultural and fisheries products, and to establish production standards, farming methods as well as a certification and traceability system for these products to ensure that the quality is up to standard. The AFCD is carrying out preparatory work with the local certification body, agricultural and fishermen organisations and other stakeholders. The AFCD and the certification body will make reference to international experiences when formulating a certification system that applies to the local agricultural and fisheries products and will fully consult the industries and relevant stakeholders before launching the new brand to ensure that the system standards are widely accepted by the industries. The AFCD is actively striving to build the unified new brand in 2025/26.
In addition, the AFCD has in recent years offered courses on practical skills, such as business start-up, business operation, simple clerical and accounting processing, to fishermen with a view to enhancing their marketing and administrative knowledge. The AFCD also plans to organise training courses related to brand building and online marketing in future to enhance farmers and fishermen's knowledge and understanding of various marketing practices, tools, sales channels, etc, so as to assist the industries in enhancing the competitiveness and market visibility of their agricultural and fisheries products.
(3) The FMO/VMO have established a fish processing centre and the Premium Vegetables Section respectively to provide processing, freezing and packaging services for local agricultural and fisheries products, enhancing product value and extending shelf life of the products. In recent years, the FMO has actively introduced the vacuum skin packaging technology to enhance the freshness and appearance of products and facilitate logistics and transportation. For agricultural products, the "Pilot Scheme on Marketing and Branding of Graded Local Vegetables", which is financially supported by the SADF, has been launched to grade local "accredited vegetables" and establish regional packaging and distribution centres with a view to providing a steady supply of premium vegetables and enhancing the consumers' awareness of and demand for "accredited vegetables". In addition, the FMO/VMO will review the utilisation and planning of existing wholesale markets, such as studying the feasibility of expanding the processing and cold storage facilities at Tai Po Wholesale Fish Market and other suitable locations.
Regarding logistics, the existing logistics distribution services in Hong Kong can generally meet the needs of the local agriculture and fisheries industries. Local farms and fish farms usually arrange their own logistics and distribution services to deliver the harvested agricultural and fisheries products to customers or sell them through wholesale markets. Meanwhile, the FMO/VMO also provide logistics, delivery and marketing support to some farmers and fishermen.
Ends/Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:30
Issued at HKT 12:30
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