Upon receipt of an application, AFCD of cers will visit the farm to check
whether there is a genuine need for agricultural or fisheries operation.
Recommendations will then be made to the Lands Department. The
AFCD will consider each item on the list of proposed structures in the
application form and may recommend approval for all items or some of
them.
If any commercial facilities are found on the farm in contravention of
the approval criteria, the AFCD will refer the application to the Lands
Department for its direct handling, which might take the commercial
facilities into account when considering the application.
The following factors will be considered when an application for Letter of Approval is processed:
Whether there is a need for erecting the structure(s) from the agricultural or fisheries point of view. The structure(s) must be used directly for farming purposes or related directly to the farming operation.
Scale of production and marketing or selling of produce: Generally speaking, the applicant's farming scale should be commensurate with the structures proposed to be erected in order to substantiate his or her application. The applicant must be the owner of the farming land, a tenant or an authorized user of the land.
There should be no commercial facilities on the farm such as:
Catering facilities such as tea room, cafe, canteen, or restaurant open to visitors; Indoor recreational facilities such as game room, karaoke room, mahjong room or assembly/lecture room open to visitors and.
Under the terms and conditions of land grant, a farmer who wishes to construct agricultural structures (e.g. greenhouses, livestock sheds, hatcheries, fish ponds, store rooms etc.) on leasehold agricultural land must apply to the Lands Department for a Letter of Approval for Agricultural Structures. To facilitate application by farmers, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("the AFCD") will receive application forms on behalf of the Lands Department and conduct preliminary processing. If an application involves commercial purpose or government land, it will be referred to the Lands Department for direct handling. The application is not applicable to movable or assembly structures such as cargo containers or assembly houses.