The characteristics and problems of farm mechanization in Shintotsukawa-cho [Japan]: A case study of the first Kamiyamato tractor users' union
1997
Jin, H. (Ibaraki Univ., Ami (Japan). Faculty of Agriculture) | Hayashi, N. | Moriizumi, S.
Over the past 35 years Japan has undergone unprecedented development in the field of agricultural mechanization. This coincided with phenomenal economic growth ad expansion of infrastructures which made this development extremely rapid. Furthermore, the government subsidized several successful agricultural structural reform projects. Since 1980, the mechanization of rice transplantation and harvesting has been widely practiced. In shintotsukawa, advanced mechanization of rice cultivation was introduced during the second agricultural structural reform project. This paper discusses the characteristics ad associated problems of the region around the First Kamiyamato Tractor Users' Union. With agricultural mechanization, may farmers began to work in industry and this decreased the number of farming households and labor hours. However, this tendency increased the paddy field area per farm from 4.6 ha in 1965 to 8.0 ha in 1994 in Shintotsukawa-cho. Rice cultivation by the First Kamiyamato Tractor Users' Union has had labor hours and rice production costs per 0.1 ha lowered by 20 percent in comparison with the mean of the rest Hokkaido. This is the primary reason that joint management is in practice. However, today the Tractor Users' Union is facing other problems. They are listed as follows: 1) It is hard to harvest paddy rice within the proper harvest time period because the facilities do not meet all needs. 2) The calculation of depreciation is not based on a fixed rate or fixed income in the First Kamiyamato Users' Union. 3) The requirement for the same rice variety for the Shintotsukawa-cho Rice Box makes the demand for the use of agricultural machinery too high
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