This paper presents a geographical interpretation of the technological change in agriculture, comparing three case studies in the rice growing regions of Bangladesh, Thailand and Japan in the 1980s, with special reference to the cropping patterns and labor inputs within a conceptual framework of farming system. The methodology of this research covers the intensive on-farm surveys as well as the extensive landuse surveys with satellite photo interpretation, which has proved an effective application of remote sensing to this field of study.

The concept of farming system in this study is proposed in order to evaluate the farming technology in a specific region as a means for resource management. Since the evaluation of farming technology depends upon the physical conditions and the economic goal, a farming system is described as a set of following three components; the crop as a plant community, the land as a cropping field, and the farmer who handles resources. It also comprises both physical and socio-economic environments as external factors beyond the capacity of individual farmer.

There are two distinctive standpoints in the geographical study on the farming systems. The first point is the explanation of relationship between the farming technology and environments within a region. The environmental influence is analyzed clearly in the dynamic phase of technological change. The second point is the interpretation of the differentiation of farming systems between regions. This implies the environmental limitations to the diffusion of agricultural technology. It is a methodological characteristic of analysis to set the focus on the landuse or cropping system, which represents the ecological succession in the field as well as the intensity of resource utilization.

The varietal adaptation to the hydrological conditions in the field is a technological characteristic of the traditional rice cultivation in Asia. The techniques related to the plant establishment such as irrigation and transplanting affect the procurement of land and labor resources at farm level. Through the technological innovation in the 1970s, the land productivity has risen in proportion to the increased input of labor and materials with the adoption of improved varieties. This has resulted in the intensification of landuse and labor input such as multiple cropping.

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In a case study of Bangladesh, traditional cropping systems of rice in a backswamp are evaluated to discuss the probability of technological change with improved varieties. The study area is located in the Faridpur Swamp Area, where the landuse pattern appears generally uniform in the satellite photo. The backswamp is divided into several parts by natural levees, and the whole area is dried up and plowed in the dry season. The traditional cropping systems are adapted to the seasonal change of water level, and they are marked by mixed-cropping of various rice and cash crops. The most prevalent one is mixed-sowing of two rice varieties maturing in September and November.

The cultivation of improved varieties in the dry season is competitive with traditional cropping systems in a large part of the lowland only if irrigation water is available at the reduced cost to a reasonable level. In the lower part, however, the traditional deepwater rice is not inferior in terms of labor productivity in spite of its low yielding because long duration of submergence enables to save the cost of frequent plowing.

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A case study in Thailand presents the feasibility of mango cultivation which is promoted under an agroforestry project in the periphery of the Chiang Mai Valley. The satellite photos of the study area suggest that forest encroachment has been critical where the land productivity is relatively low due to the shortage of water. The Land Reform Office distributed the deforested land to the farmers and initiated them into the program of tree crop cultivation, which is discouraged by the damages caused by poor management of neighboring reserved areas. The young farmers with small land tend to grow profitable crops and seem less interested in mixed-cropping with fruit-trees. Among them are those who has left their fields fallow to work out of the village.

The level of wage in the urban area affects the diffusion of agroforestry, which is characterized as a rather labor intensive technology of farming. In the long run, the control of quality and quantity of crops by variety will be important to establish the fruit-tree cultivation.

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A case study of Japan describes the diversification of crops in the farms depending on rice cultivation. The study area is located in a coastal lowland in the southern Kanto Plain, where double cropping is possible with delayed transplanting of rice for winter cropping. According to the satellite photos, single cropping is dominant in the area because rice cultivation in the early season prevailed in the 1950s to avoid the damages caused by summer heat and typhoon. Since expansion of business size in rice cultivation is difficult due to the overproduction and the limited opportunity of leasehold, many full-time farmers have introduced vegetables as winter crops and minor summer crops for the rice conversion program. Those vegetables are widely grown because cropping patterns are coordinative with rice cultivation.

The minor crop cultivation fully utilizes family labor force including housewives and retired farmers while the new crops are introduced to be grown departmentally by the successor of farm. Although many farmers are forced to save labor input into rice cultivation in the busy farming seasons, large farms with two generations of full-time farmers are advantageous in respect to the convenience of machine operation.

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Among the three cases in this paper, the case of Bangladesh shows an example of intensification in agriculture while the case of Thailand presents a result from the expansion of cultivated land. The latter case also suggests that the increase of rice production in the 1970s and the outset of industrialization in the 1980s have negative effects on the intensification of rice cultivation. The case of Japan can be a reference when rice growers try to introduce minor crops into the traditional farming systems. It is uncertain that the regional specialization of farming systems will appear in the rice growing regions of Asia although it is probable that commercial and subsistence farms will be differentiated within a region.

Considerations on the human resources in a farm is more important than ever for the projection of economic development. For example, family farms in Asia have many variations with respect to the family composition attributed to its cultural background. A couple is often a practical unit of farming in Thailand while a Japanese family farm is usually composed of direct lineal generations. In Bangladesh, some large farms are operated by joint families. Since the situation of rural labor force in Asia is changing rapidly, development strategies in agriculture will be more effective if they are designed with the proper identification of the personnel in the farms who are to be the targets of development program.

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