"Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings."
Overview of how subsistence agriculture evolved over time and its significance in human development.
Definition of subsistence agriculture: This topic defines subsistence agriculture as a system of agriculture where farmers only produce enough food to feed themselves and their families.
Origins and history of subsistence agriculture: This topic explores the history of subsistence agriculture from the earliest humans to present-day practices.
Differences between subsistence agriculture and commercial agriculture: This topic highlights the differences between subsistence agriculture and commercial agriculture, such as scale, production methods, and motivation.
Types of subsistence agriculture: This topic discusses the various types of subsistence agriculture, including shifting cultivation, pastoralism, and intensive subsistence agriculture.
Social and cultural implications of subsistence agriculture: This topic explores the social and cultural impacts of subsistence agriculture on communities and societies, including gender roles, kinship patterns, and cultural practices.
Environmental impacts of subsistence agriculture: This topic examines the environmental effects of subsistence agriculture, including deforestation, soil erosion, and loss of biodiversity.
Advances and changes in subsistence agriculture: This topic explores advances and changes in subsistence agriculture over time, including the introduction of new crops, techniques, and technologies.
Food security and subsistence agriculture: This topic discusses the role of subsistence agriculture in ensuring food security for communities and nations.
Economic and political aspects of subsistence agriculture: This topic explores the economic and political impacts of subsistence agriculture on local and national economies, including trade, markets, and policies.
Sustainability and the future of subsistence agriculture: This topic examines the importance of sustainability in subsistence agriculture and the potential for future developments in this field.
Hunter-gatherer societies: This type of subsistence agriculture involves hunting wild animals and gathering edible plants for food.
Shifting cultivation: Also known as slash-and-burn agriculture, this involves clearing a patch of land, burning the vegetation, and then planting crops. After a few years, the land becomes less fertile and is abandoned for a new plot.
Nomadic herding: This type of subsistence agriculture involves moving with herds of animals to find new grazing land.
Intensive hoe agriculture: This involves using simple tools like hoes to prepare small plots for planting crops.
Terracing: This involves creating flat areas on steep slopes to cultivate crops.
Permaculture: This type of subsistence agriculture involves creating sustainable ecosystems using a variety of plants and animals to provide food and other resources.
"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 defines 'subsistence peasants' as 'people who grow what they eat, build their own houses, and live without regularly making purchases in the marketplace'."
"Today most subsistence farmers also participate in trade to some degree."
"They use these markets mainly to obtain goods, not to generate income for food; these goods are typically not necessary for survival."
"These goods may include sugar, iron roofing-sheets, bicycles, used clothing, and so forth."
"Most subsistence farmers today operate in developing countries."
"Subsistence agriculture generally features: small capital/finance requirements, mixed cropping, limited use of agrochemicals (e.g. pesticides and fertilizer), 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 crops, small scattered plots of land, reliance on unskilled labor (often family members), and (generally) low yields."