Diversification of Agricultural Production in China:

The Agricultural Basic Act, enacted in Japan in 1961, set a policy agenda of altering the course of the Japanese farm sector over the following several decades (National Chamber of Agriculture, 1961). One of the most important concepts articulated in the Act is the transformation of the agricultural product mix : Article 2 stipulates that the government should implement appropriate measures to diversify and selectively expand farm production so that the volume of crops with anticipated future domestic demand growth is continually increased. It also opines that the product mix in this way is consistent with pursuing comparative advantage in Japanese agriculture. At the time of the Act, many senior officials and agricultural economists predicted that future economic growth would result in dynamic changes in the dietary habits of Japanese citizens (Tsuchiya, 1997). Not surprisingly, their prediction was reasonably accurate : the per capita consumption of rice and starchy roots decreased by half from the 1960s to 2000s, whereas that of fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, dairy, and eggs increased many-fold over this period. This is not a phenomenon unique to Japan : in recent years, many Asian countries have followed a similar trajectory in eating habits, shifting away from the traditional dominance of rice towards Western food types. This stems mainly from rapid economic and income growth, urbanization, and globalization, as described by Pingali (2006). In combination with these factors, modernization of the retail food sector and vertical integration of food supply accelerate these shifts. As a result, diversification and selective 1 Diversification of Agricultural Production in China