scholarly journals Technical Change and Agricultural Development

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Keyword(s):  
Technical Change ◽  
Agricultural Development

Developments in Agricultural Technology

1988 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 767-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Stone
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Technical Change ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Agricultural Technology ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Cereal Yields

The essential ingredients of land-augmenting technical change, required by most developing countries in Asia, have been delineated by Professor Ishikawa and traced during earlier periods for India, Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China. Among all the indicators associated with progress in agricultural development, only three are indispensable to rapid and prolonged growth in yields at the initial stage: improved water control; abundant supplies of fertilizers; and high-yielding seed varieties responsive to these inputs. While the introduction of one or more of these three normally provides some growth in average yields, there are much greater returns when all three are applied appropriately. These are the fundamental ingredients of the “green revolution,” which has provided rapid growth in cereal yields throughout most of Asia and elsewhere in the developing world.

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