Subsistence agriculture
Also called: Subsistence farming · Topic: Primary Activities: Gathering, Pastoralism, Agriculture and Mining · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Primary Activities"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"
Meaning
Subsistence agriculture is farming in which the farming area eats all or nearly all of what it grows. Little or nothing is left over to sell. It is typical of small and marginal farmers. It has two types:
- Primitive subsistence agriculture, which is shifting cultivation. Forest patches are cleared by fire, farmed with sticks and hoes, and left when the soil wears out.
- Intensive subsistence agriculture, which belongs to crowded monsoon Asia. Every small plot is farmed hard with family labour.
Example
A small farmer in the Ganga plain of Bihar grows rice and wheat on a tiny plot, mostly to feed the family. Very little is sold in the market.
Don't confuse with
- Commercial agriculture: this grows crops mainly for sale, on bigger farms with more capital. Subsistence farming grows food mainly for the farmer's own use.
Related concepts
- Jhum cycle
- Names of shifting cultivation worldwide
- Intensive subsistence agriculture
- Wet paddy dominated intensive subsistence agriculture
- Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by non-paddy crops
- Major rice exporters