Subsistence farming

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Like most farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, this Cameroonian man cultivates at the subsistence level.

Subsistence farming is a mode of horticulture in which a plot of land produces only enough food to feed the family working it. Depending on climate, soil conditions, agricultural practices and the crop grown, it generally requires between 1,000 and 40,000 m² (0.25 and 10 acres) per person.

Subsistence farming, by definition, produces enough food to sustain the farmers through their normal daily activities, and often enough of a surplus to take to market or store for later. It is a harsh way of living, if one wishes to have large amounts modern conveniences. Because large surpluses are rare, subsistence farming does not promote the accumulation of capital. However, the personal freedom that it provides from the capitalist economy offers some families considerable value. Some also choose subsistence agriculture to work fewer hours and provide themselves with necessities to live a healthy, comfortable life outside of modern society.

One form of subsistence farming is shifting cultivation, a practice common in the tropics during the last century. In this acricultural system, farmers typically abandon a given plot when soil fertility wanes and a considerable fallow period ensues.

Contributing factors

In the absence of technology, the area of land that a farmer can cultivate each season is limited by factors such as available tools and the quality of the soil. If this land will not produce a surplus, due to the fertility of the soil, climate conditions, tools and techniques, or available crop types, the farmer can do no more than subsist on it. In many tropical areas, particularly prior forests which have been slashed and burned, the nutrient quality is inherently low and offers scant yields.

In the absence of a well developed commercialized agricultural sector, with monetary demands on the producer, such as taxes, any given agricultural producer has relatively little incentive to move beyond subsistence farming. Expending effort to produce surplusses generates very little benefit, so the extra effort is usually wasted. Unfortunately, under these conditions, years with poor harvests often result in food scarcety and famine.

Not all farmers have access to as much land as they can cultivate. Socioeconomic conditions may prevent an expansion of farming plots. If inheritance traditions require that a plot be split among the owner's children upon his death, plot sizes can steadily decrease.

Mitigation tactics

Many techniques have been attempted (with varying degrees of success) to help subsistence farmers in producing surpluses so the community can begin the path to economic growth. Food aid can alleviate a short famine, but does nothing to solve the inherent problem of subsistence production, and thus is no longer considered a long-term solution.

Education about modern agricultural techniques has had some limited success, but not as much as was originally hoped. Many instructors discovered that their techniques depended on infrastructure, climate or resources which are not available in the subsistence community. Another approach to education has been to provide the farmers with non-agricultural marketable skills. The implicit assumption is that the subsistence farmer will leave the community to seek employment in an area where greater resources are available. This technique has met with marginal success because it ignores the human desire to stay with community.

In recent years, some attention has been given to developing , particularly in Africa and South-East Asia.

Proper irrigation techniques can dramatically improve the output of farmland. Traditional irrigation methods can be extremely labor-intensive, wasteful of water, and may require community-wide infrastructure which is difficult to implement. There are new types of irrigation equipment available which are both inexpensive and water-efficient. Many subsistence farmers, however, remain unaware of the new technologies, are unable to afford them, or have difficulties marketing their crops after investing in irrigation equipment.

Genetically modified crops (ex. golden rice) can have higher nutrient content or disease resistance than natural varieties. This technique has been highly successful in some parts of the world, though the long-term ecological and epidemiological effects of these crops are poorly understood. Microloans, loans of very small sums of money (often less than $25), can enable farmers to purchase equipment or draft animals. Alternatively, microloans can enable farmers to find non-agricultural occupations in their communities.

Subsistence farming exists as of 2006 in Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Congo, Guinea, Kikuyu, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Polynesia, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam and many other lesser developed countries.

Subsistence farming

Contributing factors

Mitigation tactics

See also