De economische beteekenis der ontginningen

The reclamation of wood and moorland was an important aspect of the growth and development of Dutch agriculture. The economic aspects of these types of reclamation were examined. Reclamation activities appeared to depend on economic conditions. In the period 1825-1935 some 255,000 ha were reclaimed, but the rate was not always the same. Reclamation has always been important in the densely populated Netherlands. The government was interested in reclamations and assisted poor farmers with some subsidies on interest. There were some objections to these subsidies; it was said that this money could better have been used for other purposes within and outside agriculture. The conclusion was that these subsidies were fully warranted. Government could facilitate reclamation also in other ways such as improving roads and the system of water control. Another part of the thesis concerns the economic problems of farmers on the new land; their incomes were generally low especially at the start and the financial burdens were heavy. So there were quite a lot of failures. To improve this situation the author proposed the creation of a Commission for Advice on Land Reclamation and the giving of some credit facilities to new farmers.