Upgrade technology

Hong Kong should develop agricultural technologies of machinery, farming methods, or patent technology relevant to its highly urbanized environment and lack of large-scale agricultural farmland.

"The government may consider giving financial grants to research institutes, commercial organizations, and think tanks to develop such technologies," suggested Tam, who emphasized imparting farming knowledge to the next generation. The old-generation farmers are no longer energetic enough to farm, while young people interested in farming do not have the knowledge, she said.

Sustenir's Moy said: "Technology adoption in agriculture will enhance productivity and improve our ability to grow more with less, even without arable land. In land-scarce Hong Kong, it is ever more important to provide local communities a resilient food supply solution. We can reduce the carbon footprint too."

Humphrey Leung Kwong-wai, founder and CEO of Growgreen, said Hong Kong has relatively little expertise in life sciences. "We have to work with universities to find potential recruits before they finish their postgraduate studies. The Hong Kong government can help us by granting salary subsidies for startups to nurture agricultural talent," he said.

Leung said the government should attract international life-science companies to establish bases in Hong Kong. "Research and development are just the small part of the entire supply chain of the food industry. The commercialization of R&D depends on large conglomerates. The government has to link the innovative capability of startups to the commercialization heft of conglomerates."