Innovations in the Fertilizer Industry and Agricultural Development: The Japanese Experience

This essay aims to provide strategic guides for Asian development by evaluating the contribution of innovations in the fertilizer industry to the growth of agricultural productivity in Japan from 1883 to 1937. Estimates of the levels of fertilizer inputs and grain yields per hectare are made for the hypothetical cases in which the fertilizer industry did not develop as it actually did. Results indicate that the development of agricultural supply industries in the nonfarm sector is crucial for agricultural growth.