LCQ19: Advancing development of poultry and livestock farming industry
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Question:
The Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly propose "enhancing the overall production capacity of agriculture", that "fresh headway should be made in keeping our skies blue, waters clear, and lands clean", as well as "pressing ahead with initiatives to invigorate the seed industry"; and the Ecological and Environmental Code, which was endorsed at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress on the 12 of this month, sets out mandatory provisions concerning the prevention and control of pollution from livestock and poultry farming and slaughtering, the fostering of resource recycling, ecological protection as well as the strengthening of food security, etc. There are views that Hong Kong should dovetail with the strategic arrangements on national agricultural development to promote the standardised implementation and high-quality development of local poultry and livestock farming projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Government will formulate Hong Kong's five-year plan to dovetail with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, whether the Government has plans to include policy initiatives that seek to advance the development of poultry and livestock farming projects so as to dovetail with the national arrangements on smart farming and biosecurity; how the Government will strengthen co-operation with local research institutions to encourage the promotion of technologies pertaining to precise feeding as well as the undertaking of research and development (R&D) relating to premium poultry and livestock farming techniques;
(2) regarding the quarantine and hygiene measures for the poultry and livestock farming industry, how the Government (i) establishes mechanisms on regular monitoring, investigation and emergency response; (ii) ensures the full implementation of inspection and quarantine measures throughout the farming process to effectively prevent the risk of transmission of major animal diseases (such as African swine fever), whilst taking into account the needs of poultry and livestock farming; and (iii) assist the industry in properly addressing issues relating to feed contamination and the waste generated from the farming process; and
(3) how the Government assists the industry in dovetailing with the national direction of enhancing self-reliance and control over poultry and livestock provenance, and formulates measures in support of provenance R&D, the introduction of superior breeds and their localised cultivation, so as to enhance the core competitiveness of the poultry and livestock industry?
Reply:
President,
The reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Pok-chi is as follows:
(1) To align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is formulating the first Hong Kong's Five-Year Plan in full steam to provide clear guidance for Hong Kong's socio-economic and livelihood development. As far as the agriculture and fisheries industries are concerned, the Government proactively drives the local agriculture and fisheries industries towards high-quality development in accordance with the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries, so as to go in line with the strategic direction of "accelerating agricultural and rural modernisation" as stated in the National 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as the overall plan to "enhance the comprehensive production capacity of agriculture" and develop "intensified farming".
To assist the livestock farming industry in upgrading and transformation, the Government is proactively driving the industry to build Hong Kong's first modernised environmentally-friendly multi-storey pig farm at a site in Lo Wu, with the site formation works expected to be completed within this year. The contractor and operator will also be selected in the second quarter of this year. The pig farm is expected to commence operation by 2032 and will adopt an intensified and modernised mode, coupled with smart technologies such as automated environmental control and precision feeding system and the Internet of Things, to raise farming efficiency and biosecurity standards, with a view to achieving sustainable development. The design and operational model will also strictly comply with the laws and regulations on animal welfare, environmental protection and public health, etc.
Besides, through the Sustainable Agricultural Development Fund, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) subsidises the industry to develop and apply modernised livestock farming technologies, such as formulating the Architectural Design Guidelines for Multilayer Livestock Farms and projects that enhance the capability of pig farms in handling odour emission, etc. The AFCD will continue to encourage local universities and research institutions to collaborate with the sector in undertaking different kinds of research and development projects on high-quality livestock farming technology, with a view to enhancing the overall standards of smart farming and biosecurity of the local industry.
(2) In terms of disease surveillance, local livestock farms are regulated under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping) Regulation (Cap. 139L), and are required to implement disease surveillance (such as African Swine Fever (ASF) testing in pig carcasses) and biosecurity measures, etc, in accordance with the requirements of livestock keeping licences. The AFCD has been strictly monitoring animal health and public health conditions at local livestock farms and implementing a host of ongoing prevention and control measures, such as arranging regular testing (including ASF virus testing), to ensure early detection and management of potential risks of disease.
The multi-storey pig farm will adopt a fully-enclosed design, which can substantially reduce the impact of pathogens and contaminants from wild animals and the external environment on pigs' health, effectively prevent direct contact between pigs and the outside environment, and significantly lower the risk of disease transmission. In addition, the multi-storey pig farm will be equipped with ventilation and filtration systems to block airborne pathogens and pollutants, thereby further reducing infection risks while enhancing biosecurity levels. The farm will be equipped with real-time round-the-clock monitoring systems to track pigs' health, allowing for early detection and follow-up of potential health issues of pigs, and at the same time more efficiently monitoring the proper execution of biosecurity protocols by the workers. The AFCD will conduct regular drills simulating the outbreaks of disease in collaboration with the operator of the multi-storey pig farm, so that the pig farm workers could be familiarised with the emergency response procedures to ensure rapid and appropriate responses in the event of disease outbreaks.
On feed management, the multi-storey pig farm will employ precision feeding systems with the use of sealed feed silos and fully enclosed pipelines, which could not only stop birds and pests from contacting the feed, but also effectively prevent the feed from moisture, mould growth, or contamination by external pathogens in the course of storage and distribution. Feed procurement and storage conditions are also subject to strict control to minimise contamination risks caused by the feed to the overall environmental hygiene at source. For livestock waste treatment, it is explicitly specified in the livestock keeping licence that pig farms must be equipped with modernised wastewater treatment technology and enclosed deodorisation systems to ensure that livestock waste and odours are properly converted and treated and in strict compliance with the environmental discharge standards, thereby minimising the impact on the surrounding environment.
(3) The Government has all along been collaborating with the Mainland in various areas of agriculture and fisheries. In particular, the AFCD signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Facilitation of Technological Exchange and Co-operation on Sustainable Development of Agriculture with the Guangdong Province in 2024 to further deepen technological exchanges and co-operation between the two places on livestock farming. The AFCD has also led delegations consisting of local stakeholders (including Legislative Council members, representatives of livestock industry associations and local pig farmers) for field visits to large-scale pig farms in the Mainland on multiple occasions, so as to understand their operation mode, biosecurity and animal disease control measures and draw on the experience of the Mainland in designing and managing multi-storey pig farms.
With reference to the successful experience in the Mainland, AI technology will be introduced into the multi-storey pig farm to provide scientific data support for performance testing and selection of superior breeds by precisely monitoring key parameters such as the health status and growth of each breeding pig, with the aim to contribute to our country's research and development on livestock breeds. In addition, the AFCD is exploring with Mainland breeding pig breeder enterprises the feasibility of importing breeding pigs from national-accredited high-end breeding pig nurseries in the Mainland to local pig farms, so as to prepare for the introduction of superior breeds and localised cultivation in the multi-storey pig farm.
Ends/Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:22
Issued at HKT 12:22
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