Subsistence agriculture occurs when
farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on
smallholdings.
Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no surplus. Planting decisions occur principally with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, and only secondarily toward
market prices.
Tony Waters, a professor of sociology, defines "subsistence peasants" as "people who grow what they eat, build their own houses, and live without regularly making purchases in the marketplace."
Despite the self-sufficiency in subsistence farming, most subsistence farmers also participate in
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...
to some degree. Although their amount of trade as measured in cash is less than that of consumers in countries with modern complex markets, they use these markets mainly to obtain goods, not to generate income for food; these
goods
In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants
and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not ...
are typically not necessary for survival and may include sugar, iron roofing-sheets, bicycles, used clothing, and so forth. Many have important trade contacts and trade items that they can produce because of their special skills or special access to resources valued in the marketplace.
Most subsistence farmers today operate in
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed Industrial sector, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is al ...
.
Subsistence agriculture generally features: small capital/finance requirements,
mixed cropping, limited use of agrochemicals (e.g.
pesticides
Pesticides are substances that are meant to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microb ...
and
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
), unimproved varieties of crops and animals, little or no surplus yield for sale, use of crude/traditional tools (e.g. hoes, machetes, and cutlasses), mainly the production of food crops, small scattered plots of land, reliance on unskilled labor (often family members), and (generally) low yields.
History
Subsistence agriculture was the dominant mode of production in the world until recently, when market-based
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
became widespread.
Subsistence agriculture largely disappeared in Europe by the beginning of the twentieth century. It began to decrease in North America with the movement of
sharecroppers and tenant farmers out of the American South and Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s.
In Central and Eastern Europe, semi-subsistence agriculture reappeared within the
transition economy after 1990 but declined in significance (or disappeared) in most countries by the accession to the EU in 2004 or 2007.
[Steffen Abele and Klaus Frohberg (Eds.). "Subsistence Agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe: How to Break the Vicious Circle?" Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Central and Eastern Europe. IAMO, 2003.](_blank)
Contemporary practices
Subsistence farming continues today in large parts of rural Africa,
[Goran Hyden. ''Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania: Underdevelopment and an Uncaptured Peasantry''. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1980.] and parts of Asia and Latin America. In 2015, about 2 billion people (slightly more than 25% of the world's population) in 500 million households living in rural areas of developing nations survive as "
smallholder" farmers, working less than 2
hectares (5
acres) of land.
Around 98% of China's farmers work on small farms, and China accounts for around half of the total world farms.
In India, 80% of the total farmers are smallholder farmers; Ethiopia and Asia have almost 90% being small; while Mexico and Brazil recorded having 50% and 20% being small.
Areas where subsistence farming is largely practiced today, such as India and other regions in Asia, have seen a recent decline in the practice. This is due to processes such as urbanization, the transformation of land into rural areas, and integration of capitalist forms of farming.
In India, the increase in industrialization and decrease in rural agriculture has led to rural unemployment and increased poverty for those in lower caste groups. Those that are able to live and work in urbanized areas are able to increase their income while those that remain in rural areas take large decreases, which is why there was no large decline in poverty. This effectively widens the income gap between lower and higher castes and makes it harder for those in rural areas to move up in caste ranking. This era has marked a time of increased
farmer suicides
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
and the "vanishing village".
Adaptation to Climate Change
Most subsistence agriculture is practiced in
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed Industrial sector, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is al ...
located in
tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...
s. Effects on crop production brought about by
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
will be more intense in these regions as extreme temperatures are linked to lower crop yields. Farmers have been forced to respond to increased temperatures through things such as increased land and labor inputs which threaten long-term productivity. Coping measures in response to variable climates can include reducing daily food consumption and selling livestock to compensate for the decreased productivity. These responses often threaten the future of household farms in the following seasons as many farmers will sell draft animals used for labor and will also consume seeds saved for planting. Measuring the full extent of future climate change impacts is difficult to determine as smallholder farms are complex systems with many different interactions. Different locations have different adaptation strategies available to them such as crop and livestock substitutions. Rates of production for cereal crops, such as wheat, oats, and maize have been declining largely due to heat's effects on
crop fertility. This has forced many farmers to switch to more
heat tolerant crops to maintain levels of productivity. Substitution of crops for heat tolerant alternatives limits the overall diversity of crops grown on smallholder farms. As many farmers farm to meet daily food needs, this can negatively impact nutrition and diet among many families practicing subsistence agriculture.
Types of subsistence farming
Shifting agriculture
In this type of farming, a patch of forest land is cleared by a combination of felling (chopping down) and burning, and crops are grown. After 2–3 years the fertility of the soil begins to decline, the land is abandoned and the farmer moves to clear a fresh piece of land elsewhere in the forest as the process continues.
While the land is left fallow the forest regrows in the cleared area and
soil fertility
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent Crop yield, yields of high quality. and
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biom ...
is restored. After a decade or more, the farmer may return to the first piece of land. This form of agriculture is sustainable at low population densities, but higher population loads require more frequent clearing which prevents soil fertility from recovering, opens up more of the forest canopy, and encourages scrub at the expense of large trees, eventually resulting in
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...
and
soil erosion
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, a ...
.
Shifting cultivation is called ''dredd'' in India, ''ladang'' in Indonesia, ''milpa'' in Central America and Mexico and ''jhumming'' in North East India.
Sedentary farming
Nomadic herding
In this type of farming people migrate along with their animals from one place to another in search of fodder for their animals. Generally they rear
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
, sheep, goats, camels and/or yaks for milk, skin, meat and wool.
This way of life is common in parts of central and western Asia, India, east and southwest Africa and northern Eurasia. Examples are the nomadic
Bhotiyas and
Gujjars of the Himalayas. They carry their belongings, such as tents, etc., on the backs of donkeys, horses, and camels.
In mountainous regions, like Tibet and the Andes, yak and llama are reared. Reindeer are the livestock in arctic and sub-arctic areas. Sheep, goats, and camels are common animals, and cattle and horses are also important.
Intensive subsistence farming
In intensive subsistence agriculture, the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour.
Climate with large number of days with sunshine and fertile soils, permits growing of more than one crop annually on the same plot. Farmers use their small land holdings to produce enough for their local consumption, while remaining produce is used for exchange against other goods. It results in much more food being produced per acre compared to other subsistence patterns. In the most intensive situation, farmers may even create terraces along steep hillsides to cultivate rice paddies. Such fields are found in densely populated parts of Asia,
such as in the Philippines. They may also intensify by using manure, artificial irrigation and animal waste as
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
. Intensive subsistence farming is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south, southwest, and southeast Asia.
Poverty alleviation
Subsistence agriculture can be used as a
poverty alleviation strategy, specifically as a safety net for food-price shocks and for
food security. Poor countries are limited in fiscal and institutional resources that would allow them to contain rises in domestic prices as well as to manage social assistance programs, which is often because they are using policy tools that are intended for middle- and high-income countries.
Low-income countries tend to have populations in which 80% of poor are in rural areas and more than 90% of rural households have access to land, yet a majority of these rural poor have insufficient access to food.
Subsistence agriculture can be used in low-income countries as a part of policy responses to a food crisis in the short and medium term, and provide a safety net for the poor in these countries.
Agriculture is more successful over non agricultural jobs in combating poverty in countries that have a larger population of people without education or that are unskilled.
However, there are levels of poverty to be aware of to target agriculture towards the right audience.
Agriculture is better at reducing poverty in those that have an income of $1 per day than those that have an income of $2 per day in Africa.
In Kenya, the number of people who make $1 per day decreased by 150 million in rural areas while in urban areas it increased to 50 million.
[Environment, UN. “Eradicating Poverty through an Inclusive Green Economy : UNEP Post 2015 Note 6.” ''UNEP'', 2015, https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/9498/-Eradicating_poverty_through_an_inclusive_green_economy_UNEP_Post_2015_Note_6-2014eradicating_poverty_through_an_inclusive_green_economy_english.pdf.pdf?sequence=8&%3BisAllowed=y%2C%20Chinese%7C%7Chttps%3A] People who make less income are more likely to be poorly educated and have fewer opportunities therefore they work more labor-intensive jobs, such as agriculture.
People who make $2 have more opportunities to work in less labor-intensive jobs in non-agricultural fields.
See also
*
Back-to-the-land movement
*
Cash crop
*
Commercial agriculture
*
Extensive agriculture
*
Hoe-farming
*
Industrial agriculture
*
Opium replacement
*
Subsistence economy
*
Subsistence fishing
*
Urban agriculture
Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and f ...
*
Allotment (gardening)
*
Permaculture
*
Smallholding
References
Further reading
* Charles Sellers (1991). ''The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815–1846''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Sir Albert Howard (1943)
An Agricultural Testament Oxford University Press.
* Tony Waters (2010).
Farmer Power: The continuing confrontation between subsistence farmers and development bureaucrats/
* Marvin P Miracle (May 1968). "Subsistence Agriculture: Analytical Problems and Alternative Concepts“, ''American Journal of Agricultural Economics,'' pp. 292–310.
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Agriculture by type
Tropical agriculture
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