Fig. 5. Current rice yields (rough rice) in selected countries related to
Japan's historical trend. Intensification of farming on land now being
farmed is the other way to grow more food. This means moving farming in
developing regions to higher stages of development, in effect recapitulating
the historic progression exemplified here by the case of Japan. Typical rice
yields in Japan increased (black curve) as Japanese agriculture moved from
the traditional stage through the advent of irrigation to scientific
agriculture and finally to structural transformation. Current yields in most
Asian countries, where less than 50% of the rice land is cultivated, place
them still in second stage, as plotted. [From W.D. Hopper, "The
Development of Agriculture in Developing Countries." Copyright © 1976
by Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.]