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Letters | Boosting urban farming will benefit Hong Kong’s food security and environment
- Readers discuss how to revitalise Hong Kong agriculture, improving drivers’ knowledge to enhance road safety and the fate of Lin Heung Tea House
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Concerns about Hong Kong’s food security and the emergence of a farm-to-table movement in other economies has reinvigorated interest in local farming. Thus, the news that a rare heirloom rice variety, Fa Yiu Tsai, is once again being grown locally after an absence of more than half a century is to be welcomed.
Hong Kong imports more than 90 per cent of its food, much of it from the mainland. When imported food is more than enough for Hong Kong people, must we maintain local agriculture? The answer is yes, for two main reasons.
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First, the price of food is closely linked to fuel prices, the abundance of food supply and ease of transport, all of which are affected by climate change. There is an urgent need to increase Hong Kong’s level of food self-sufficiency.
Second, preserving local agriculture promotes ecological sustainability. Farms and animal life are closely related to each other.
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That many ecological hotspots in Hong Kong fall within farms is not a coincidence. Traditional agricultural methods have maintained ecosystem resilience for hundreds of years. A reduction in agricultural land will have a devastating impact on other life forms. It is high time the government and Hongkongers work together to maintain local agriculture.
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