MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, Deputy President. Over a century ago, Hong Kong was once a major fishing village in the southern part of China, and its people maintained a living mainly through agriculture and fisheries (“A&F”) activities. But industrialization and urbanization has led to the gradual shrinkage of the A&F industries in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, some people still engage in the A&F industries even today, providing people with plenty of food such as fresh vegetables, live fish and poultry every day. The current-term Government also attaches a great deal of importance to the A&F industries and put forward the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries (“the Blueprint”) last year setting out its future planning for the industries. Today, I would like to thank Mr Steven HO for proposing his motion. I agree that new quality productive forces can bring critical opportunities to the A&F industries, in the sense that such forces may transform long-standing and traditional industries into new industries based on innovation and technology (“I&T”) and intelligentization, so that they may substantially increase their production and directly attract investors to enter the field. All this is more beneficial to attracting young people to join the industries and solving the long-standing, major and difficult problem of succession, thereby materializing the sustainable development of the A&F industries.
The Government’s Blueprint has laid down specific targets for the A&F industries, including increasing the annual production of locally cultured marine fish to 1 200 tonnes within five years and to 6 000 tonnes within 15 years, which will represent a tenfold increase in the total production value compared to the current level. The annual production of vegetables will be increased from 15 000 tonnes at present to 60 000 tonnes within 15 years, representing a fourfold increase. These targets are ambitious. Given the current manpower shortage, limited capital and lack of sites, the Government must vigorously leverage new quality productive forces in order to achieve these targets. In other words, it should adopt I&T on all fronts to promote the development of the A&F industries.
As a matter of fact, our country has already positioned new technologies in agriculture, science and artificial intelligence (“AI”) as its focus for technological advancement, implying the level of importance it attaches to these areas. The country has long since been promoting the development of the A&F industries towards I&T and intelligentization and applying AI technologies such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, 5G (fifth-generation) communications technology and blockchain to the production and management process of the A&F industries.
China’s technology giants, including Alibaba and JD.com, have successively committed resources to developing smart farming and animal husbandry. In the case of Huawei, even when it encountered hindrance in its business development, it still explored the development of AI pig farming technologies, so as to assist the industry in developing towards automation. Some of the technologies that have already been adopted include AI greenhouse management systems, AI real-time crop monitoring systems, AI foot rings tracking poultry health, AI irrigation control systems with sensors, fertilization and pest control by drones, and big data analytics for yield prediction. With technological advancement, production and management in the A&F industries will be fully intelligentized, and as technological innovation drives innovation in the industries, new quality productive forces will be formed, with the ultimate result of significantly boosting productivity.
Given the relatively small scale of Hong Kong’s A&F industries, I believe the process of promoting their development towards I&T and intelligentization will be met with certain difficulties. Besides, since our country has already developed many new technologies, it is not necessary for Hong Kong to develop such technologies by itself. I suggest that the Government should lead industry practitioners to the Mainland in order for them to gain some useful experience or even bring in the relevant technologies for the industries. The Government will inevitably have to commit additional resources, but it is worthwhile to do so because so doing can enable these traditional industries to completely transform themselves and provide a new career pathway for young people. More importantly, the industries may provide people with fresh A&F products of a high quality.
In addition, in order to achieve success, the A&F industries must produce products that meet market needs besides enhancing its productivity, or else their hard work will go down the drain. As the A&F industries are relatively small in scale, they may tread the path of pursuing fine products, meaning to say that they should seek to produce fine products of a high quality as a start. Many countries and regions around the world have begun to develop “delicate agriculture”, and Japan is an apt example that Hong Kong can learn from. Speaking of Japan, Members can naturally think of Fuji apples, Kyoho grapes, and so on. All these are products of “delicate agriculture”. There are also some successful cases in Hong Kong, such as our Kamei chickens. For all these reasons, Hong Kong should explore those products that are suitable for development, vigorously develop such products through I&T, and promote them to the whole world by means of fine packaging and publicity. That way, we can truly develop new bright spots for the A&F industries.
Thank you, Deputy President.