Vegetable in Hong Kong

Do you know that only around 3% of produce consumed in Hong Kong is locally grown?

…OK, that’s really negligible, and is far away from self-sufficient.

But when you remember that Hong Kong is a concrete jungle, where the land is scarce and expensive, this figure becomes kind of interesting.

There are actually more than 1900 farms in New Territories, and Hong Kong’s overall climate is good for growing, with winter being the most productive season. In winter, people can grow choi sum, bok choi, pumpkin, carrots, taro and the like. During warmer seasons, lettuce, bitter melon, lychee, mangoes are some welcome produce.

Moreover, people start to pay more attention to health and environment. “Eat green and organic” has obviously become a topic. Together with the bad news about how imported produce from mainland China is full of pesticide and chemical, it’s only natural that people would want something “safer, fresher and greener”.

So it’s not necessarily a joke when people said “let’s farm in Hong Kong”, as you can see both the potential and demand.

Still, restricted amount of land, development projects that tends to destroy green valleys, lack of surveillance, high cost of organic farming…All of these post great challenges to the “farm in Hong Kong” idea.

Well, there is still a long way to go, a really, really long way, to be honest.

However, it is a long road that worth waking, if you ask me.