Subsistence farming

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

Subsistence farming, or subsistence agriculture, is a mode of agriculture in which a plot of land produces only enough food to feed the family or small community working it. All produce grown is intended for consumption purposes as opposed to market sale or trade. 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.

A recognizably harsh way of living, subsistence farmers can experience a rare surplus of produce goods under conditions of good weather which may allow farmers to sell or trade such goods at market. Because such surpluses are rare, subsistence farming does not allow for consistent economic growth and development, the accumulation of capital, or the specialization of labor. Diets of subsistence communities are confined to little else than what is produced by community farmers. Subsistence crops are usually organic due to a lack of finances to buy or trade for industrial inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides or genetically modified seeds.

History

Subsistence farming, which today exists most commonly throughout areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of South and Central America, is an extension of primitive foraging practiced by early civilizations. Historically, most early farmers engaged in some form of subsistence farming to survive. Within early foraging communities, like hunter-gatherer societies, small communities consumed only what was hunted or gathered by members of the community. As the domestication of certain plants and animals evolved, a more advanced subsistence agricultural society developed in which communities practiced small-scale, low-intensity farming to produce an efficient amount of goods to meet the basic consumption needs of the community.

Historically, successful subsistence farming systems often shared similar structural traits. These included equal access to land plots for community members as well as a minimum expenditure of agricultural labor to produce subsistence amounts of food. Over time, the loss of such freedoms forced many subsistence farmers to abandon their traditional ways. In early 20th century Kenya, a lack of land access due to the commercialization of certain farmland plots by British colonists forced Kenyan communities toward commercial farming. Consistent surpluses, like those experienced by 19th century South Africa and 16th century Japan, also encouraged commercialized production and allowed farmers to expend more amounts of agricultural labor on certain produce goods that were strictly intended for trade.

Though forms of subsistence farming are believed to have been practiced by most early civilizations worldwide, over time, as population densities rose and intensive farming methods developed, the movement toward commercial farming and industrialization became more prominent. For countries like Botswana, Bolivia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Mexico, and Vietnam, however, subsistence farming continues to be a way of life far into the 21st century.

Techniques

Techniques of subsistence farming include slash and burn clearing in which farmers clear plots of farmland by cutting down all brush, allowing the debris to dry, and later burning the fallen refuse. This works to clear the field for cultivation, while the leftover ash serves as a natural fertilizer. This type of clearing technique is often employed by subtropical communities throughout lush areas of South and Central America, and parts of Indonesia.

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. Tools used by subsistence farmers are often primitive. Most farmers do not have access to large domesticated work animals, and therefore clear, toil and harvest their goods using pointed sticks, hoes, or by hand. If the land does 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 hope to subsist on it. Under these conditions, subsequent years with poor harvests often result in food scarcity and famine.

Not all subsistence farmers have access to as much land as they can cultivate. Many times, socioeconomic conditions prevent an expansion of farming plots and any increase in produce levels. If inheritance traditions require that a plot be split among an owner's children upon the owner’s death, plot sizes can steadily decrease.

Obstacles to Industrial Development

The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto has argued that one obstacle to industrial development is that subsistence farmers cannot convert their work into capital which could ultimately be used to start new businesses and trigger industrialization. De Soto has argued that these obstacles exist often because subsistence farmers do not have clear titles to the land which they work and to the crops which they produce.

In addition to the problems presented by undefined property rights, monetary demands on industrial producers, like produce taxes, often dissuade subsistence farmers from entering the commercial farming sector. Moreover, the marginal benefit of surplus production is limited, and any extra effort to increase production is poorly rewarded.

Subsistence farmers in underdeveloped countries also lack equal access to trade markets. Despite attempts to specialize in the production and distribution of certain crops, many subsistence communities would still lack access to open market systems in which the sale or trade of such goods are possible. In addition, educational studies have shown certain industrial growth techniques to depend on various infrastructures, climates, or resources that are not available in all communities relying on subsistence farming. In this way, subsistence farming may represent the only way many deeply rural communities can survive.

Industrial Intervention

Many techniques have been attempted, with varying degrees of success, to help subsistence farmers to produce consistent surpluses so that small underdeveloped communities can begin the path toward commercial farming, economic growth and development.

Education about modern agricultural techniques has proven to have limited success in areas practicing subsistence farming. Though some subsistence communities lack the basic infrastructure for industrial growth, a second approach to education has been to provide community farmers with non-agricultural marketable skills. Under this appraoch, subsistence farmers are given an opportunity to leave the subsistence community to seek employment in an area where greater resources are available. This technique has been met with marginal success as it often ignores the human desire to stay within one’s community.

In recent years, some attention has been given to developing underutilized crops, particularly in areas of Africa and South-East Asia. Genetically modified crops, such as golden rice, have also been used to educate farmers within subsistence communities. Such crops are proven to have higher nutrient content or disease resistance than natural varieties, and represent an increase in farming efficiency. This technique has been highly successful in some parts of the world, though long-term ecological and epidemiological effects of these crops are often poorly understood.

Proper irrigation techniques can also dramatically improve the productivity of subsistence farmland and have been introduced to certain rural communities in hopes of promoting output surpluses. Traditional irrigation methods, if in place, have been shown to be extremely labor-intensive, wasteful of water, and may require a community-wide infrastructure which is difficult to implement. Certain programs have helped to introduce new types of irrigation equipment available, which are both inexpensive and water-efficient, to subsistence farming communities. Many subsistence farmers, however, are often unaware of such technologies, are unable to afford them, or have difficulties marketing their crops after investing in irrigation equipment.

Microloans, or government loans of small sums of money, have also been shown to enable farmers to purchase equipment or draft animals. Alternatively, microloans can also enable farmers to find non-agricultural occupations within their communities.

Subsistence Farming and the Modern World

Despite its difficulties, subsistence farming remains a part of the modern world today. For many underdeveloped nations, subsistence farming represents the only option to prevent starvation.

Subsistence farming has been argued to be economically efficient within various subtropical regions of Columbia and Papua New Guinea. Under these subtropical conditions, rainfall levels are often high and various crops can be produced year round. Due to these conditions, production levels often prove adequate enough to provide for small susistence farming communities.

This argument does not hold for many Sub-Saharan regions of Africa, where poverty and famine levels are some of the highest in the world. One reason why subsistence farming systems have failed throughout the Sub-Saharan region are increasing trends in population growth that are not met with an equal increase in the production of agricultural output. Other reasons include unusually harsh climate conditions, widespread disease among plants and animals, and a lack of efficient institutional structures. In parts of rural Zambia, much of the current population relies on subsistence farming to survive. As irrigation systems are few, most Zambians must rely on seasonal rains to ensure crop production. In 1995, Zambia underwent a severe drought which vastly diminished production levels throughout traditional farming communities. Similar impoverishment has been observed throughout parts of the Amazon Basin of Brazil and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which also rely heavily on subsistence farming and production.

Many developmental economists argue against the use of subsistence farming and promote commercial farming and economic industrialization as the solution to worldwide hunger. Economist Ronald E. Seavoy, author of Subsistence and Economic Development, argues that subsistence farming is to blame for high levels of poverty and increasing instances of famine. He suggests the first priority of central governments to be the transformation of subsistence agriculture into commercial agriculture which will ultimately promote economic growth and development among economically underdeveloped nations.

Various international leaders agree. Dr. Lastus Serunjogi, a member of parliament for central Uganda, has argued for the promotion of commercial farming to alleviate high poverty levels throughout Ugandan subsistence farming communities. By restructuring the production output of his people and identifying a potential market for free trade, Dr. Serunjogi hopes to promote small-scale industrialization within central Uganda, thereby improving rural living conditions and diminishing poverty rates.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• CBC News Viewpoint. Subsistence Farming; A Way of Life in Zambia. 14 March, 2006.
• The Monitor (Kampala). Uganda: Commerical Farming is Way to Go- Serunjogi. 14 February, 2007. www.allafrica.com. Retrieved 21 February, 2007.
• Seavoy, Ronald. 2000. Subsistence and Economic Development. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275967824.
• Waters, Tony. 2006. The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: Life Beneath the Level of the Marketplace. Lexington Books. ISBN 0739107682
• Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika and Maria Mies. 2000. The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalized Economy. Zed Books. ISBN 1856497763 ISBN 978-1856497763

External Links

• Mozambique Subsistence Agriculture FAO Newsroom 23 August, 2004.
• Subsistence Farming A Way of Life in Zambia.
• Uganda: Commerical Farming is Way to Go- Serunjogi

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