TRENDS OF AGRICULTURE IN THE DEVELOPED LANDS, THE SUBURBS OF TÔKYÔ, AND THE FUNCTIONS OF ITS LAND OWNERSHIP

Abstract

Production system in the developed lands in Saitama Prefecture has so far been characte-rized by homogeneity, which has been a gift of the uniform development policy. Later on this homogeneity inn production almost failed to exist, because the change of the demand structure of agricultural products and the progress of urbanization gave rise to the change of the method of cultivating lands and the out-flow of agricultural production factors. We are now surprised at finding a new method of cultivating lands; the general dry field farming-that of growing rice, wheat, and other grains-has now divided both into that of extensive agriculture saving more labor and that of intensive one using more advanced techniques. And also we are surprised at finding various, regionally specialized types of farm management. At the same time, however, we see that with all these better conditions of land basis they have not yet introduced large scale agricultural machines in order to systematize their productive activity. The land division and the land ownership of the developed lands are generally characte-rized by their adjusted divisions and the spatially limited relations between lands and their owners; moreover they are specifically characterized by the concentrated ownership of large scale field. These characteristics make it easier for a farmer to purchase a wide area of lands in one lot. Aided by these conditions, urbanization and industrialization of these developed lands are now in progress. In the relatively backward areas, industrial estates have been constructed under the leadership of the administrative authorities. Urbanization urges many farmers to exchange their ownership of lands among themselves, say, by moving into the newly developed lands or by purchasing a wider area of lands in one lot. These phenomena show us that the developed lands have had a strong effect on the urbanization.