Agricultural History Review, Volume 46 Part 1 (1998), pp. 64–80

Economic conditions in the inter-war period made field drainage uneconomic to the farmer and, in consequence, there was no social return on arterial investment designed to facilitate it. Despite this, the Ministry of Agriculture carried through a substantial programme of arterial drainage. To achieve this it was necessary to reform the archaic and chaotic system of drainage administration and to overcome opposition from the farming community to paying for its programme. Administrative reform was consolidated in the Land Drainage Act of 1930. Opposition was overcome in three ways: by promoting land drainage for other purposes such as the relief of unemployment and thus tapping other sources of funding; by widening the definition of beneficiary so as to broaden the fiscal base; and, via loans and grants to drainage authorities, by shifting the burden from rates to general taxation. The programme was complemented by propaganda to promote field drainage. The motivation for the programme appears to have been technical, stemming from the recognition that land drainage would increase agricultural output. This foregone output was presented as a loss to the nation despite the fact that it was not economic to produce it. Parallels are drawn with the post-Second World War Ministry view that the economic incentives facing the farmer should be manipulated so as to achieve production that was technically possible. 

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