Japan and the United States relied on different technological paths to expand their agricultural output. Research summarized by Hayami and others (1975) and Binswanger and Ruttan (1978) has established that Japan has long emphasized biological, yield-raising technology, much of it supported by heavy investment in irrigation. This emphasis continued with systematic investment in agricultural research initiated after 1868.
The first seed drills were developed in China and Mesopotamia in the third millenium B.C. (van Bath 1960). The Mesopotamian drill required three workersone to drive the oxen, one to put grain in the hopper, the third to hold the drill steady. It was apparently possible to use this instrument profitably only in the fertile soil of Mesopotamia, where high yields could be achieved and labor was abundant.

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Japan and the United States relied on different technological paths to expand their agricultural output. Research summarized by Hayami and others (1975) and Binswanger and Ruttan (1978) has established that Japan has long emphasized biological, yield-raising technology, much of it supported by heavy investment in irrigation. This emphasis continued with systematic investment in agricultural research initiated after 1868.
The first seed drills were developed in China and Mesopotamia in the third millenium B.C. (van Bath 1960). The Mesopotamian drill required three workersone to drive the oxen, one to put grain in the hopper, the third to hold the drill steady. It was apparently possible to use this instrument profitably only in the fertile soil of Mesopotamia, where high yields could be achieved and labor was abundant.

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