Showing papers on "Subsistence agriculture published in 1978"

Risk Attitudes of Subsistence Farmers in Northeast Brazil: A Sampling Approach

Abstract: The risk attitudes of samples of small farm owners and sharecroppers in Brazil were investigated. Data were derived by posing two sets of simple, realistic mind experiments involving choice between risky and sure alternatives. In the first set, the farmer's total income was uncertain but his subsistence need was assured; in the second set, his subsistence needs also were at risk. Comparison of the distributions of the estimated risk attitude coefficients for the two tenure groups and for the cases of subsistence assured and subsistence at risk implies that owners and sharecroppers may react differently to risk, and that poor peasants may react differently within an expected utility context depending on whether or not there is uncertainty about the satisfaction of their subsistence needs. Most peasants were found to be risk adversive; risk aversion tends to be more common among small owners than among sharecroppers. Level of income and other socioeconomic factors influence peasants' attitudes toward risk. It is concluded that it is possible via a simple questionning technique to elicit meaningful information on peasant attitudes that are pertinent to rural development.

Teparies in southwestern North America

Abstract: Ethnohistorically, wild and domesticated teparies (Phaseolus acutifolius: Leguminosae) are significant native food crops in southwestern North America. Their value rests in adaptations to arid environments, and high protein content and productivity. Use of wild teparies appears to be discontinued, but certain domesticated varieties are still grown by local commercial and subsistence farmers. The recent subsidence of tepary cultivation is related to breakdown of traditional economies and land use, and to the introduction of energy-intensive irrigated agriculture. An earlier and unsuccessful attempt to introduce teparies into modern agriculture was poorly timed. Teparies have considerable potential for low maintenance agriculture in arid and semi-arid lands.

On the Origins of Domestic Rye— Secale Cereale : the Finds from Aceramic Can Hasan III in Turkey

Abstract: Wheat, barley and peas, traditional grain-crops of the Western World are, by now, well known to have originated in the Near East. It was the cultivation of the wild ancestors of these crops, beginning soon after the end of the last European Ice Age, that eventually led to an utterly new way of life for most of the population of Europe and Western Asia, a new Neolithic culture based on food production and complete with appropriately adapted tool assemblages and relatively permanent living structures. Soon, from different parts of the Near East, this new pattern of subsistence based on wheats, barleys and pulse crops spread in all directions. One direction led up the Balkan Peninsula and into Central and, eventually, Northern Europe where the Near Eastern, Neolithic, cereal-pulse culture spawned temperate-adapted versions of just the same patterns of subsistence.Rye, however, has played no part in this story as told to date, this despite the fact that, as Europeans, we automatically associate rye with wheat and barley, the two other providers of our ‘daily bread’.

The Demise of a Rural Economy: From Subsistence to Capitalism in a Latin American Village

Abstract: 1. Anthropological economics and a small village2. An economy evolves3. Household production: subsistence and surplus4. The production process5. Organizing a labour force6. The seeds of a transformation7. Horizons and reflections

Role of Credit in Farmers Adjustment against Risk in Arid and Semi-Arid Tropical Areas of India

Abstract: against Risk in Arid and Semi-Arid Tropical Areas of India N S Jodha Weather-induced instability of farming is the principal source of risk in agriculture in arid and semi-arid tropical areas of India The problem presents itself in its most magnified form during drought years During such occasions, which are quite frequent, farming fails to ensure even the minimum subsistence requirement of humans and livestock

The Value of Subsistence Production

Abstract: Most anthropologists and economists examining peasant agriculture have either not attempted to place a monetary value on crops consumed at home or have valued such production at market (selling) price This article argues that this can lead to incomplete or erroneous analyses of agricultural behavior, since a sensible farmer should often value subsistence production near retail (buying) price Theoretical problems associated with assigning monetary values to subsistence production are discussed, some evidence on how farmers actually value crops consumed at home is presented, and suggestions for future research are made

Energy inputs and outputs of subsistence cropping systems in the tropics

Abstract: Published data are examined to illustrate aspects of the relation between human and draft animal energy input and crop energy output in tropical subsistence cropping systems. For rainfed hoe cultivation of cereals the normal range of energy output/input ratio is 10–20 : 1; for non-cereal energy crop production it may be appreciably higher. However, such a range does not necessarily represent a secure food energy balance when account is taken of the total food energy requirements of the farm family and of seasonal variation in crop yeild. Some aspects of human and animal energy inputs for rainfed and irrigated crop production with draft animals are discussed.

Agricultural organization and fertility: A comparison of two Philippine Frontier communities

Abstract: The effect of agricultural organization on fertility is examined by a cross‐sectional analysis of data from two rural Philippine communities. Largely settled after World War II, both communities began traditional subsistence farming. Over time one community has turned to commercial farming. Contrary to expectations, no substantial differences between the two communities are found in fertility levels or in the relationship between socioeconomic status and fertility. Status is negatively related to fertility in both communities, and most of its effect is through age at marriage. In the community which has developed commercial agriculture, status affects fertility after marriage, but then only slightly.

The caloric returns to food collecting: Disruption and change among the Batak of the Philippine tropical forest

Abstract: The changing economy of a group of tropical forest hunter-gatherers is examined. The Batak of the Philippines today earn many calories by participating in an external market system; once they would have earned these calories within the traditional subsistence system. Gathering and selling Manila copal to purchase rice has partially displaced digging wild yams as the major source of subsistence. Data show that this change has reduced the productive efficiency, of human labor. The Batak must work longer and perform more difficult tasks to obtain the same number of calories by collecting copal as they can obtain by digging wild yams, even as they must today work longer hours anyway to earn necessary cash to satisfy new, nonfood consumer wants. The growing dietary importance of rice is only one aspect of changing food consumption patterns that may be having an unfavorable impact on Batak nutrition.

Sugar, Rice and Irrigation in Colonial Java

Abstract: A key argument in Agricultural Involution concerns the "mutualistic" relationship between rice and sugar cultivation. In Geertz's view the irrigation systems which accompanied the export sugar economy increased both the extent and the fertility of the sawah and made it possible for the Javanese to raise rice yields through evermore labor intensive methods. This claim is misleading because it overemphasizes the agronomic similarities between sugar and rice, and ignores the ways in which estate sugar cultivation constrained labor intensification in subsistence rice farming. During the past fifteen years the interpretation of Javanese colonial history has been dominated by a single book: Clifford Geertz's Agricultural Involution (1963). In less than 200 pages this justly acclaimed study discusses 120 years of Javanese history and confronts many of the important theoretical issues in Javanese historiography. But despite, or perhaps because of its paramount position, Agricultural Involution has received little critical attention. Most reviews have been laudatory (Benda 1966; Conklin 1968; Jaspan 1965; Koentjaraningrat 1975:202-204; Larking 1971; Missen 1972; Mubyarto 1978; Sajogoy 1976:xxi-xxxi; Sharma 1964; Smail 1965; Wertheim 1964; Yengoyan 1966) and with one exception (White 1973; 1976) no one has subsantially challenged or modified any key part of its argument. Geertz's critics (e.g., Utrecht 1973; Hinkson 1975) have concentrated on his description of the village economy-arguing that he overstates the extent of economic homogeneity and that there is little evidence of the rich forgoing income in the interests of the poor. Lyon (1970), in the most comprehensive critique to date, claims that there was increasing social and economic polarization in rural Java during the colonial period and castigates the static equilibrium assumptions she discerns in Geertz's work. ETHNOHISTORY 25/3 (Summer 1978) 207 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.243 on Wed, 05 Oct 2016 04:41:33 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 208 JENNIFER and PAUL ALEXANDER The absence of theoretically based criticism is surprising in view of the growth of interest in both cultural ecology and peasant societies during the past decade. There have also been a large number of field studies by demographers, economists and anthropologists which can be used to correct any tendency to treat Geertz's fieldsite in East Java, Modjokuto, as a microcosm of Javanese society. Agricultural Involution was in many respects a pioneer study and it would be remarkable if its analysis could stand unaltered in the face of more recent fieldwork and general theoretical developments within anthropology. The Mutualistic Relationship Between Sugar and Rice Agricultural Involution represents the development of labor-intensive sawah agriculture as a defensive attempt by a traditional society to cope with the twin demands of a rapidly increasing population and export-orientated agriculture controlled by the colonial power. When Dutch actions lowered mortality rates after 1830, the burden of maintaining the increased population fell upon the subsistence sector. Unable to control population growth, the Javanese took advantage of the inherent labor elasticity of the sawah ecosystem to develop a very labor-intensive form of agriculture and, in the institutions labeled "shared poverty," an equitable means of sharing the product. A key argument in this thesis is the "mutualistic" bond between sugar and rice cultivation. Sugar demands irrigation (and drainage) and a general environment almost identical to that for wet rice; thus, it was almost of necessity initially cultivated on peasant sawah. . . (1963:55) In the mutualistic relationship, the expansion of one side, sugar cultivation, brings with it the expansion of the other, wet-rice growing. The more numerous and the better irrigated the terraces are, the more sugar can be grown; and the more people a seasonal, readily available, resident labor force (a sort of part-time proletariat) supported by these terraces during the nonsugar portion of the cycle, can grow sugar (1963:56-57). Geertz argues that it was the increase in both the extent and the fertility of the sawah caused by the development of sugar cultivation, which made it possible for the Javanese to raise sawah productivity by evermore labor intensive methods of cultivation. Reviewers appeared to regard this aspect of Agricultural Involution as very grounded (Yengoyan 1966; Missen 1972), and on the basis of the Javanese material alone this opinion seems justified. There are some apparent anomalies, however, when Javanese rice farming is compared with wet rice cultivation in other Asian countries. The abundant supplies of labor and This content downloaded from 157.55.39.243 on Wed, 05 Oct 2016 04:41:33 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Sugar, Rice and Irrigation in Colonial Java 209 expertly developed terraces suggest that the productivity of Javanese rice cultivation should be high by Asian standards. Yet, as Geertz (1963:131) himself notes, Japanese rice yields which were similar to Java's in 1868, were 250 percent greater by 1960. Rejecting an explanation based on the technical superiority of Japanese agriculture, on the grounds that this is part of the phenomenon to be explained, he argues that the critical factor was the demographic history of the two countries. Because Japanese population growth was absorbed in the industrial sector, Japanese farmers could concentrate solely on raising productivity per hectare and they accomplished this by raising the productivity of each agricultural worker through higher capital inputs, especially fertilizer. Javanese farmers, on the other hand, were forced to provide work for the growing rural population and this hampered attempts to raise the productivity of land. But while it is true that Japanese rice farming is more capital-intensive and gives greater yields per agricultural worker than Java's, it is not the case that Javanese agriculture is more labor-intensive. Despite greater mechanization, Japanese cultivators use only slightly fewer man hours per hectare in growing a single rice crop and obtain higher yields.1 On an annual basis, Japanese agriculture is more labor-intensive: the high yields are not merely a product of greater capitalization, they are also due to the Japanese farmers' ability to maximize land use by utilizing high labor inputs throughout the year (Collier 1977; Stoler 1977). Nor is Japan unique: in other high yielding wet rice systems in Bengal and Taiwan, the high labor inputs made possible by multiple cropping are crucial in obtaining high levels of production.2 The knowledge that neither the labor intensity nor the annual yield of Javanese rice farming is high by Asian standards, suggests that Geertz's description of the relationship between sugar and rice cultivation as "mutualistic," might be reconsidered. While we do not dispute Geertz's claim that sugar cultivation played the major role in extending the area of sawah available for rice cultivation, we argue that it also imposed severe limits on the Javanese peasants' ability to lift the productivity of their sawah through greater labor inputs. In other words, while Geertz's description of positive feedback in the sawah ecosystem is correct, he neglected the constraints imposed through negative feedback.

The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia.

Abstract: A thermal printing apparatus for magnetic tapes is disclosed which transfers information such as video information on a master tape to a slave tape. In general, the slave tape is heated to a temperature in the vicinity of its Curie point. After the slave tape is brought into contact with the master tape, it is separated from the master tape and cooled which fixed the information on the slave tape. With the invention, the temperature of the slave tape at the time of printing can be precisely controlled.

Lesotho farming: The condition and prospects of agriculture in the lowlands and foothills of Lesotho.

Abstract: It is postulated that agricultural development in third world countries cannot properly be appraised without an understanding of the farming knowledge, and economic and cultural attitudes, of those citizens whom it is supposed to benefit; the factors which have moulded the contemporary- individual 's approach to farming must also be appreciated. Physical factors affecting agriculture in the lowlands and foothills of Lesotho are therefore outlined; the economic history of the Basotho nation is then discussed, and the present contribution of agriculture to national subsistence noted. It is argued that the farming sector is in decline but that it retains a vital role in the sustenance of most households. Two aspects of cultural context are examined; vernacular relationships with the landscape, and the perceived role of cattle. Contemporary Sesotho agricultural methods and farming knowledge are then outlined, and the important social networks which sustain agricultural production are - discussed. In a broad analysis of Sesotho world-view, the individual's attitude to farming is located. It is argued that the extent of farming knowledge, the degree of interest in this activity and the needs, problems and desired changes reported reflect an accurate appraisal of the role and actual potential of agriculture in Sesotho economy today. The significance of this appraisal for rural development is then shown in a discussion of soil erosion and conservation in Lesotho. The analysis is expanded to consider the policies of government and aid projects in other areas of agriculture. It is concluded that these are more likely to meet with success where they reinforce the supplementary subsistence role farming is still expected to fulfil; more ambitious initiatives may not correspond with realistic Sesotho expectations in this sector.

Reasons for inequality among medieval peasants

Abstract: The stratification of the medieval peasantry cannot be attributed only to the markets in land and agricultural products. The division between the free and the unfree and between the holders of family subsistence holdings and inadequate smallholdings is found in periods of very low production for the market. The complex interplay between land availability, technical progress, inheritance and endowment customs, demands for rent and tax and the resistance capacity of the peasants must also be examined. The relative strength of these various factors changed considerably during the medieval period, especially between 1300 and 1500 circa, when the land:labour ratio shifted dramatically.

The Impact of Market Agriculture on Family and Household Structure in Nineteenth-Century Chile

Abstract: SCHOLARS of Latin American history have only recently begun to systematically analyze the family and household.1 A very few of the studies to date have dealt with lower-class household structures, and these investigations have been limited in scope to specific times and places. Such an approach tends to characterize household structure as static and culturally determined. By contrast, this analysis samples household structures, as indicated by general population enumerations, for various economic zones in Chile (see map). Using this technique, it is possible to show the variety of structures which can typify one ethnic-class group in different economic and social contexts. Households and families are portrayed as fluid institutions which change with economic and demographic change and reflect the position of the unit within the economic and social system. Specifically, changes in lower-class rural household and family structures in nineteenth-century Chile are related to the transformation from subsistence to market argriculture and to the position of the household within the market sector given an abundant supply of labor.2

Small Farmer Credit and the Village Production Unit in Rural Mali

Abstract: This paper reviews the appropriateness of a development intervention celebrated for its direct benefits to the rural poor: small farmer credit. It will focus on the degree of inappropriateness that results from a contradiction between the convenience of directing the credit to discrete compound units and the dependence of small farmers' success on the coordination of production activities among larger groupings. The case to be looked at is from the West African savannah of Central Mali. The economic posture of Malian savannah farmers develops within the context of these larger groups of producers. Unlike peasant coalitions in Latin America (Ortiz, 1972), the Malian groupings have not arisen to provide mutual security by spreading market risk among a wider group. This occurs where peasants are dependent on returns from a commercial crop the demand for which leaves them uncertain about how much to produce at any given time. If this were the case, subsidized credit inasmuch as it improved the peasant's marketing options might be able to circumvent such coalitions in attracting the small farmer. But the Malian peasant's coalitions are organized to confront production rather than marketing constraints. As long as these production constraints remain, his loyalty will be to his coalitions rather than to a marketing opportunity should these conflict. The Malian peasant is not limited by land scarcity in the amount he cultivates. Therefore, he is not dependent on income from commercial crops to buy food; he will increase cash crop production only when its marketing situation is stable. Dry season migrant labor opportunities have long been available to him as an alternative for raising money for the colonial and post-colonial head taxes. Migrant laborers come home to grow unmarketed, subsistence crops. The money uses of their labor are often better served elsewhere.

A Model of Crop Selection in Semi-subsistence Agriculture and an Application to Mixed Agriculture in Fiji

Abstract: The vast majority of the world's farmers operate as semi-subsistence producers. Models of fully subsistence agriculture are modified to allow a two-goods analysis of cash crop and staple crop production. A further extension allows comparisons between two groups of farmers possessing different production functions for their respective staple crops. Production possibility curves are constructed for each group of farmers and an empirical test formulated. Empirical results confirmed the hypothesized behavioral relationships which would give rise to the observed differences in resource allocation and resource productivity between Indian and Fijian farmers operating within a similar agricultural environment.

The process of technical change in agriculture : the case of the Saga Plain area of Japan, 1868-1939

Abstract: This thesis analyses the micro-economic process of technical change in one particularly successful agricultural area of Japan, the Saga Plain, between 1868 and 1939. It does so within a framework which relates the characteristics of the new techniques selected to the prevailing technical, economic and social environment, through the institutional mechanisms for the development of new technology. These characteristics themselves then influence the diffusion of new techniques and their effects. The Saga Plain differs from much of the rest of Japan in its natural environment. Hence the technology employed in paddy rice cultivation at the beginning of the period also differed, especially in methods of irrigation. Economic and social relationships between households centered on arrangements to meet the heavy labour and capital requirements of the irrigation technology and to ensure the subsistence of cultivators. The technical and economic system was disrupted by the rapid industrialisation of nearby areas after 1900. This raised the demand for marketed rice and caused a substantial outflow of small-scale cultivators. Shortage of hired labour forced larger cultivators to split up their holdings, and the proportion of middle-sized cultivators increased. Such farmers were under pressure to find ways of lessening the labour requirements for irrigation and raising output. The solution to their problems was developed by local government and extension officials, who assisted the manufacturers in the design of an electric pump. This innovation was rapidly diffused through communal purchase of the pumps by village organisations. It was the breakthrough which permitted the adoption of other new techniques, leading to substantial rises in yields and labour productivity. It intensified the trend towards increasing proportions of medium-scale family farms. The study suggests conclusions as to the institutional requirements for the development of appropriate techniques and the relationship between technical and structural change in agriculture.

Trapping, Survival Strategies, and Environmental Involvement: A Case Study from the Canadian Sub-Arctic'

Abstract: In a sub-Arctic band of Hare Indians, considerable discrepancies have been found in the style, consistency, and degree of environmental involvement characterizing different individuals and families. The distinct subsistence patterns of subgroups within the population are explored. Ideological, psychological, historical, and experiential factors that contribute to this variability are examined. These factors are seen to affect strategies concerning trapping, hunting, mobility, wage labor, identity maintenance, and the quality of life that people seek. While some individuals pursue freedom from traditional subsistence hardships, others focus on self-sufficiency and freedom from constraints imposed by greater integration with Western society.