The book on "Advanced Rice Cultivation, Irrigation and Drainage Technology in Japan" has been published as one of the volumes of the "Advanced Technology series" that aim at the promotion of exchange of technology world-wide through the dissemination of the latest techniques developed by Japan's experts in their respective fields. This is the first book of the series to deal with agricultural technology and it places emphasis on water management in paddyfields which form the core of Japan's agriculture. Rice is widely cultivated throughout the world, especially in Asia. Of the world's toal grain production, rice, mostly paddy rice, accounts for 19 percent in terms of cultivated area and 24 percent in terms of yields and is thus the most important farm product. Japan, one of the leading producers of puddy rice, has cultivated rice since time immemorial as the people's staple food. Continued efforts have been from the technical, financial and structural standpoints to increase the production of rice. As a result, the yield of rice(brown rice) has increased from 2t/ha around 1870, when Japan was standing at the dawn of modernization, to 3t/ha around 1940 and during World War ?¶¡?and to nearly 5t/ha presently. This high land productivity, which could be achieved through increased labor productivity associated with the progress of mechanization, is attracting, attention world-wide.

Edited by Shoichiro Nakagawa, Minoru Nakagawa, Akira Matsumoto, Tsuyoshi Chiba, Sota Iwamoto, Kazumi Iwasaki, Yasunobu Matoba Copyright 1983 by Fuji Marketing Research Co.,Ltd.