Soon after the end of World War Two, civil war broke out in China. Escaping refugees surged into Hong Kong en masse. Some of the refugees were entrepreneurs and urban settlers who would later fuel Hong Kong’s industrial boom. Others who had no money or knew no skills, settled in the New Territories as subsistence farmers.
In the early 1950s, only 13.5% of Hong Kong’s total land area was used for farming, and most of this was made up of paddy fields. Vegetable and livestock production were few. This meager farming production was far from sufficient to meet urban demand, and so Hong Kong’s population relied heavily on imported goods from China. However, the creation of the People’s Republic of China aroused concerns from Hong Kong’s colonial Government about their dependency on such imports. With the urban mouths to feed, immigrant farmers to settle and food security concerns, the Government became increasingly proactive with regards to strengthening Hong Kong’s agriculture. The picture shows farmer working hard on the field.
KAAA could be regarded as a partnership with the people, by the people and for the people. With KAAA’s capital and tools and the agricultural department’s expertise, farmers were given autonomy and self respect, and the now productive units were able to work together for the benefit of the community to satisfy Hong Kong’s food demand.
The accelerating pace of urbanisation in the New Territories from the 1970s onwards, and the exodus of the farming population, led to a decline in Hong Kong’s agricultural industry. KAAA kept in step with this social change. In 1995, KAAA evolved to become the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Corporation (KFBG).
For a small charge, the Government supplied boars to mate with sows. This service was also available from local boar keepers while KAAA provided boar-on-demand service. In 1959, the Government introduced artificial insemination to better protect swine from contagious diseases.
Applications for the loan from the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund (KAALF) were first promptly investigated by Government agricultural officers who aimed to reply within a week. After the loan was granted, regular visits to farmers were made to ensure the proper use of loan money and to assess agricultural production.
“Fong Kuk Fa” literally means “Paddy loan”, which was a short-term loan for paddy farmers. “Paddy loans” were needed because between planting and harvest time, farmers had an arduous three and a half month toil without income. In order to finance their farming needs and to make ends meet, farmers would borrow money at planting time and repay the loan at harvest time.
