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The current state of paddy agriculture in Japan 1
Author(s) -
Sato Hitoshi
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.10
Subject(s) - agriculture , livelihood , paddy field , irrigation , business , drainage , agricultural economics , population , geography , water resource management , environmental science , environmental planning , economics , agronomy , ecology , demography , archaeology , sociology , biology
This document is a published version of the keynote speech made at the Asian Regional Workshop on Sustainable Development of Irrigation and Drainage for Rice Paddy Fields held in Tokyo in July 2000, hosted by the Japanese National Committee of the ICID. This report outlines the current state of paddy agriculture in Japan, focusing on the history of paddy field development, current status of paddy field improvements, the formation of rules on water use, and the roles of land improvement districts, which form the basis of managing agricultural water in Japan. It also highlights the present situation of agriculture in Japan, directions of relevant efforts and initiatives, and the importance of enhancing multiple functions of paddy agriculture for the national livelihood as well as securing a stable food supply. Paddy agriculture is an effective way of achieving both agricultural production and environment conservation functions in the Asian monsoon region. However, in the face of limited land and water resources as well as rapidly increasing population, a stable food supply will be difficult to attain in the future without the development and the establishment of irrigation and drainage technologies for paddy fields, and the dissemination and sharing of these technologies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.