Before the British came, much of what is now Hong Kong relied on fishing and famring. While the hilltop and steep hillsides of its 200-plus islands were not suitable for growing crops, there were salt pans, rice fields, some cultivation of vegetables and animal husbandry.
It was enough, at least, to feed what was then a relatively small population.
When the British took control of Hong Kong Island in 1842, the vast majority of locals were dependent on fishing. But the interest of the early British colonists was in the trade potential of the deep, sheltered waters of Victoria Harbour.
While there were attempts to introduce agriculture - not least the growing of opium, the drug Britain went to war with China to sell - the growing population turned its attention to trade and industry.
The agricultural heartland of the New Territories became part of the British colony in 1899, but the influx of mainland immigrants continued, and the emphasis switched towards trading and, later, manufacturing.
From the 1960s onwards, large swathes of farmland made way for new towns as the population blossomed.