Agricultural development has long been the biggest challenge faced by governments or rulers of many countries and regions, be it in the past or at present. It affects the various political, social and economic development aspects of a country or region. Based on various long-term and short-term social needs, the authorities have attempted to find a suitable balance, searching constantly for feasible methods to manage agriculture, in the hope of harmonising the interests of peasant households, consumers and the ruling class through administrative measures. This has resulted in continuous adjustments in agricultural policies and effectively affected the development of agriculture as well as the well-being of farmers and the general public. / As an entrepot, Hong Kong had very little arable land. The number of people engaged in farming, either directly or indirectly, was dwarfed by the consumer population. How to provide the large population with sufficient food, enabling it to be a driver behind economic development? This question became an important political issue for the Hong Kong colonial government for more than 100 years. Sino-British relations fluctuated considerably after the Second World War and this made agricultural development a thorny problem for the colonial government. In the course of studying 60 years of agricultural development, the most striking impression is that the Hong Kong colonial government was totally involved in agricultural production in the New Territories through the systematic promotion of the cooperative movement involving production, transport and marketing. This had made contribution to Hong Kong's unique political and social environment. / This thesis reconstructs the agricultural history of Hong Kong in the post-war period. It explores the profound influence that the Agricultural Cooperative Movement has on the political ecosystem of the villages in the New Territories, economic efficiency and human relations in rural communities. / 陳煜禮. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2007. / 參考文獻(p. 226-230). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0713. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2007. / Can kao wen xian (p. 226-230). / Chen Yuli.