The purpose of this article is to show that there was a close relationship between Japanese food policy, which gave Taiwan a central role in supplying rice, and the development of the small-scale industries in Taiwan. The analysis focuses on the development of the rice processing industry, which was a typical small-scale industry for Taiwan in this period. The conclusions can be summarized as follows : The introduction of small motors in the 1920〜30s turned rice processing in Taiwan into a newly rising small-scale industry. This was a result of the active response of Taiwanese rice dealers, who had reformed their collection network and processing techniques in response to Japanese agricultural policy, and the new economic relationship with Japan which developed as a result. As a result of the development of the rice processing industry, the structure of small-scale industrialization became a pattern of colonial industrialization. It caused firstly, the formation by Taiwanese business owners of small-scale industries, which were based on their dominance over the circulation of rice in Taiwan, and secondly, the colonial limitation of industrialization, which appeared in the form of a strong connection with agriculture and a small scale of business.
View full abstract