Rethinking Approaches To Agriculture In Cities: A Case Study of Hong Kong

Abstract

Agriculture has been labeled as a sunset industry in metropolitan cities like Hong Kong. With the decline of local agriculture, Hong Kong now relies heavily on imported food, particularly from Mainland China. At a time when sustainability and food security have become pressing issues, it is particularly apt that Hong Kong should rethink the role that agriculture plays in future urban development, particularly with respect to the potential contributions of various urban foodscapes (i.e. peri-urban farms and intra-urban agricultural activities) that have sprouted up in versatile locations - both inside and on the fringes of the city.

This research will explore different policy and business approaches based on current food consumption patterns, perceived food self-sufficiency targets and experience of other urbanised cities in order to facilitate the integration of peri-urban and intra-urban agriculture into future plans of the city. An overview of research objectives, some examples of current urban agricultural systems and practices (e.g. their business mode, sales and marketing mechanisms, etc.), as well as next steps for the research will be presented in this seminar.