On the Studies Related to the Margin of Cultivation

Abstract

The margin of cultivation has been studied as one of the principal subjects of agricultural economics/farm management and of agricultural geography. While it has been studied by scholars in agricultural economics/farm management with relation to the land rent theory of economics, agricultural geographers have dealt with it as an areal problem in relation to the margin of agricultural land use.In this paper, the author has reviewed literature on the margin of cultivation from a view point of geography to further the study on this field.The outline of my research is as follows:(1) Several problems must be further examined when the concept of the margin of cultivation is to be applied to the actual land utilization. Some of those problems are related to the span of time, the scale of area, and the positive and negative aspects of the margin of cultivation. Others are the situations of both land-lenders and land-renters; whether land lenders are resident or absentee landowners; whether land-renters are agri-businessmen or farmers. Other personal factors of farmers also had to be examined.(2) A number of studies on extensive margins of cultivation have been done in areas where arable land is expanding. In Japan, many researchers have reported on the cultivation of mountainous areas and wastelands in cold and cool region.Extensive margins of cultivation are often regarded as the poorest land in the studies of agricultural economics farm management. On the other hand, there have been few studies done on the above-mentioned subject in the field of geography. There has been some research done abroad on social follows within the supermarginal lands, but there has been none of such kind of studies in Japan.(3) The margin of cultivation can be examined theoretically in each case of different crops. In Japan, the cold limits or height limits on dairy farming or rice cultivation are examined in specific studies. This is treated as the creation of marginal lands in agricultural economics/farm management.In geography, although rice cultivation is examined from the view point of horizontal limits, height limits, and actual limits or possible limits, the concept of the margin of cultivation is treated ambiguously.(4) The margin of cultivation is determined by economic factors along with favorable natural conditions. Both static and dynamic factors are examined. Among the dynamic factors, the changing margin of cultivation and price responses are studied by agricultural economics, although they are studied with no relationship to the actual margin of cultivation. There is very little of this kind of research in geography.