A Cost-and-Benefit Analysis of Chia-Nan Channels

Agriculture in Taiwan developed rapidly in the Japanese colonial era. The irrigation systems constructed then were generally considered a key factor in this success. Chia-Nan Channels, co-financed by the Governor-General and local farmers, was the largest irrigation system constructed. Despite its large scale, the water supply was still insufficient to irrigate the whole Chia-Nan Plain. In response to this, a 3-year crop rotation plan was executed and farmers had to take turns irrigating their land. This water regulation has been considered a means by which Japanese sugar capitalists exploited Taiwanese farmers, and was criticized by scholars at that time, e.g., Yanaihara (1929). This paper makes a cost-and-benefit analysis of Chia-Nan Channels. Our calculation shows that Chia-Nan Channels actually enhanced the farmer's income significantly, and its impact on a sugar mill's profit was only marginal.