This research examines the developing process of farming on reclaimed land as seen from the changing farming conditions of each settler in the context of national land reclamation which took place after the Second World War when agricultural production was increasing.
As a case study, research was undertaken on the background of the reclaimed land from Lake Dainakanoko, which is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture. In this reclaimed land, settlement started in 1966 and three rural villages (northern, western and southern) were formed over the course of two years, and a total of 216 farm households were settled. Under the active guidance of the Agricultural Cooperative, farming was developed based on a cooperative system using eight households per unit.
The results are as follows: 1) The developing process of farming over the past 30 years can be divided into 3 periods-commencement of farming, change in farming and settlement of farming; 2) The farming conditions of settlers gradually diversified over these 3 periods. In the 1st period, 216 settlers started out under the same conditions of cultivable land (an area of 4 ha), mainly cultivating rice with very few other types of crops. In the 2nd period -the changing stage of farming-conditions could be classified into various types: some raised vegetables outdoors or in greenhouses, some cultivated rice, some raised livestock and others became daily farmers. In the 3rd period, conditions became stable and flower-growing was added to those of the 2nd period. In addition, regional differentiation was found among the northern village (vegetables and flowers), western village (vegetables, animal husbandry and abandonment of farming) and southern village (animal husbandry and vegetables) of Dainakanoko Reclaimed Land; 3) The native places of the settlers and the unit-based cooperative system had the largest influence on the differentiation of farming among the settlers.
As the result, the following can be considered regional characteristics of the developing farming process of Dainakanoko Reclaimed Land, in comparison with Nabeta Reclaimed Land, which is in the suburbs of Nagoya City. First, the settlers of Dainakako Reclaimed Land were able to equip themselves with large farm machines and horticultural facilities through the careful agricultural policies of the national and Prefectural government. Second, the cooperative system of farming created a large scale of farm management among the settlers, many of whom were natives who came from the district.
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