scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers on "Subsistence agriculture published in 2000"


Book
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the origins of agriculture in the Levant and the diffusion of the Neolithic process are discussed, and a geographical and chronological framework for the first stages of diffusion is presented.
Abstract: List of plates List of figures Translator's note Foreword Preface Chronological table Introduction Part I. The Origins of Agriculture: 1. Natural environment and human cultures on the eve of the Neolithic 2. The first pre-agricultural villages: the Natufian 3. The Revolution in symbols and the origins of Neolithic religion 4. The first farmers: the socio-cultural context 5. The first farmers: strategies of subsistence 6. Agriculture, population, society: an assessment 7. The Neolithic Revolution: a transformation of the mind Part II. The Beginnings of Neolithic Diffusion: 8. A geographical and chronological framework for the first stages of diffusion 9. The birth of a culture in the northern Levant and the neolithisation of Anatolia 10. Diffusion into the central and southern Levant 11. The evidence of symbolism in the southern Levant 12. The dynamics of a dominant culture Part III. The Great Exodus: 13. The problem of diffusion in the Neolithic 14. The completion of the neolithic process in the 'Levantine nucleus' 15. The arrival of farmers on the Mediterranean littoral and in Cyprus 16. The sedentary peoples push east: the eastern Jezirah and the Syrian desert 17. Pastoral nomadism 18. Hypotheses for the spread of the Neolithic Conclusion Postscript Notes Bibliography Index.

241 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The importance of pluriactive farm households at both local and regional levels by refering to cases studies drawn from the West of Ireland has been examined in this paper, showing that off-farm work by Irish farm families is neither a new phenomenon nor purely the result of economic necessity.
Abstract: Within the European Union, Ireland is one of the countries that has a very high number of farms where the farm operator and/or spouse works outside the family farm. The role of off-farm employment in the viability of Irish farm households is central to both farming and the sustainability of rural communities. This article examines the importance of pluriactive farm households at both local and regional levels by refering to cases studies drawn from the West of Ireland. It shows that off-farm work by Irish farm families is neither a new phenomenon nor purely the result of economic necessity. It also indicates the considerable socio-economic and environmental importance of pluriactivity. The article concludes by relating the realities of pluriactivity to the future rural and agricultural policy of the European Union. It suggests that the growing role of pluriactivity for farm households should be viewed more as a key strategy in the maintenance of a ‘living countryside’ than as an indicator of conventional agriculture’s failure to sustain farming populations.

198 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the strength of adaptation capacity of subsistence farmers in Northern Ethiopia, and evaluate historical experiences gained from drought-induced migration, through a survey of104 peasants who had to migrant due to persistent drought, vulnerabilityto climate change has shown to be a complex issue, including themultiplicity of factors comprising a household environment.
Abstract: Climate change has been presented as a likely trigger formigration of people, especially in dryland areas of less developed countries.The underlying research questions focus on the strength of adaptationcapacity of subsistence farmers in Northern Ethiopia, and evaluate historicalexperiences gained from drought-induced migration. Through a survey of104 peasants who had to migrant due to persistent drought, vulnerabilityto climate change has shown to be a complex issue, including themultiplicity of factors comprising a household environment. Still, to bevulnerable does not make someone a potential climate migrant, as peoplein marginal regions have developed a great variety of adaptationmechanisms, which strengthen their ability to cope with both, slow climaticchanges and extreme climatic events.

191 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the mid-1990s, however, labour protests were increasing by quantum leaps as mentioned in this paper, reaching more than 1.1 million people in more than 30 cities in China by 1998.
Abstract: Large-scale labour protests are not new to the PRC. At several important junctures since 1949, such as the Hundred Flowers Campaign, the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen protests of 1989, Chinese workers took to the streets and made their voices heard.1 These previous actions were all associated, however, with larger political crises that had also engulfed other social groups seeking to redress grievances. The incidence of separate labour protests was low. In the mid-1990s, however, labour protests were increasing by quantum leaps. An official estimate, which could be conservative, indicates that in 1995 labourrelated demonstrations involved more than 1.1 million people in more than 30 cities.2 In 1998 such demonstrations reportedly had leaped to 3.6 million workers.3 The Chinese government, not surprisingly, has identified labour problems as a serious threat to social and political stability.

163 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted a study in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Sigur Plateau in the state of Tamil Nadu, India to quantify the forest dependence of local people, and assess to what extent restrictive biodiversity conservation conservation strategies would affect their livelihoods.
Abstract: Traditional communities living at forest margins use forest resources in various ways. Understanding the resource-use patterns of such communities provides a basis for seeking the participation of such communities in forest conservation. The present study undertaken in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Sigur Plateau in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, addressed the importance of forests in the household economy of indigenous communities. Its main objective was to quantify the forest dependence of local people, and assess to what extent restrictive biodiversity conservation strategies would affect their livelihoods. These questions help in understanding the stake of the people in forest conservation strategies. Economic activities of the households were investigated in eight selected villages, four of which (proximal villages) had access to reserve forest areas where collection of forest products was allowed and were also located close to markets that provided opportunities to sell forest products. The remaining four villages (distal villages) were close to the Wildlife Sanctuary where the collection of forest products was not allowed and there was no access to organized markets. A total of 132 households were surveyed. The households both in proximal and distal villages were classified into three distinct income groups namely ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘high’, based on their gross annual income. Use of forest resources in Mudumalai was found to be influenced by multiple factors. In terms of livelihood of the traditional communities, livestock rearing and collection of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) were very important, the latter both for cash income and subsistence use. Peripheral communities used the forest resources in a varied fashion, with NWFPs contributing differently to different income groups. Where there was no restriction on forest use, higher income groups used the resources more heavily than lower income groups, and hence would suffer most from any restriction on forest use. People's reliance on forests evidently declined with increased level both of education and of opportunities in non-forestry vocations. Forests were still very important to the household economy of the local people both in terms of food security and cash income.

159 citations


01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the socioeconomic impact of community forestry policy implementation in the Middle Hills region of Nepal and drew attention to a need to reconsider the approach to community forestry in the light of its socioeconomic objectives.
Abstract: This article analyzes the socioeconomic impact of community forestry policy implementation in the Middle Hills region of Nepal. It draws attention to a need to reconsider the approach to community forestry in the light of its socioeconomic objectives. Drawing on various reports and observations it shows that some households have less access to forest products for subsistence use and income than they had before the community forestry intervention. This is especially true among poorer households in which prior to the interventions many poor households earned money by selling fuelwood in nearby markets. In addition it indicates that the few income-generating activities that involve the poor and women have had little impact. Thus there is a need to reconsider the approach to community forestry with a further emphasis on socioeconomic objectives. Field projects should provide support to District Forest Offices and guidance in systematic planning and monitoring of socioeconomic development activities. Finally there is a need for a more balanced approach to community forestry policy intervention which considers both the demand for forest products at the household subsistence level and the demand of forest-based industries.

159 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the Indian Himalayan region, the authors of as mentioned in this paper analyzed resource uses, management practices, economy and people's perceptions of problems and likely solutions.
Abstract: Conflicts between local people and protected area managers are a common problem in developing countries, but in many cases there has been little attempt to comprehensively characterize the underlying problems. Resource uses, management practices, economy and people's perceptions of problems and likely solutions were analysed in two villages near and two villages away from the core zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the Indian Himalaya. Agriculture, although practised on less than 1% of the area, was the primary occupation of local people. Six annual crops of a total of 22 and all four horticultural crops on private farms were damaged by wildlife, but Reserve management provided compensation only for livestock killing by wildlife and compensation amounted to only 4–10% of the total assessed monetary value of killed livestock. A variety of wild plant products were used locally but 27 were marketed by more than 50% of surveyed families; income from wild products was substantially lower than that from crops and livestock. A sociocultural change from a subsistence to a market economy, together with changes in traditional land/resource rights and institutions, has led to a number of changes in land-use and management practices. The livestock population has declined, agricultural area has remained the same and people have started cultivating medicinal species in the last 20 years. These changes seem complementary to the goal of conservation. However, changes such as abandonment of some traditional food crops and stress on cash crops lacking fodder value, requiring substantial manure inputs derived from forest litter and livestock excreta, and causing severe soil erosion, seem to counter the goal of environmental conservation. Some government-managed Reserve Forest sites were similar to the Community Forests in terms of species richness, basal area and soil physico-chemical properties. Two Reserve Forest sites showed basal areas of 160.5–191.5 m2/ha, exceeding the highest values reported so far from the region. The formal institutional framework of resource management seems to be not as effective as the traditional informal system. The Reserve Management Plan lays more emphasis on legal protection than on the sustainable livelihood of local communities and has led to conflicts between local people and reserve managers. Plantation of fodder and medicinal species in degraded forest lands, suppression of economic exploitation of local people in the market, enhancement of local knowledge of the economic potential of biodiversity, incentives for cultivation of crops with comparative advantages and lesser risks of damage by wildlife, and rejuvenation of the traditional involvement of the whole village community in decison-making, could be the options for resolving conflicts between people and protected areas in this case.

137 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a stochastic frontier production function model was proposed to explain a considerable proportion of interfarm efficiency differences and quantifies the efficiency effects of farm size, access to credit, nutrition intake, education attainment, and farming experience.

131 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In order to consider the full range of subsistence behaviour exhibited by Neanderthals, faunal analyses are compared to results of the analysis of lithic materials from the target regions, validating hypotheses about subsistence, site function, settlement territory, and human mobility.
Abstract: Ten years of research about the Neanderthal's subsistence behaviour are presented. The study of large mammal bones is now recognized as a means of understanding subsistence behaviour (sensu lato), notably by analysing acquisition and processing strategies, as well as patterns of consumption. This paper summarizes the results of an analysis of a corpus of data from several European countries, representing a total of 466 levels corresponding to 323 sites (Patou-Mathis M. 1999a. Memoire d'Habilitation a Diriger des Recherches, submitted to: University Paris I. The countries involved are: France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Moldavia, Ukraine and Georgia. The period of study extends from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, i.e. from isotope stage 8 to stage 3. Three different sources of data are used: bone assemblage studies by the author (reference samples); fully published zooarchaeological studies (reliable samples) and publications containing relatively detailed data about fauna (more problematical samples). The information obtained from these data sources does not have the same degree of precision. In order to consider the full range of subsistence behaviour exhibited by Neanderthals, faunal analyses are compared to results of the analysis of lithic materials from the target regions. This comparison validates hypotheses about subsistence, site function, settlement territory, and human mobility. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

127 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of wetlands for these communities has been and continues to be too often ignored, and while developments may bring economic prosperity or improved food security for the urban populations, often it is the poorer and marginalised people who subsist at the edge of wetlands and who are not involved the development planning that suffer from the negative environmental impacts of such developments.
Abstract: Communities with livelihood strategies that combine subsistence agriculture with utilisation of wetland resources constitute a significant proportion of the population in developing countries. Their livelihood depends to a large extent on the productivity of the natural systems, in particular wetlands that provide a great variety of functions and benefits. This includes their role as hydrological buffers and the provision of food, water, construction materials, as well as many other products. In addition, wetlands may provide options for additional developments such as tourism. Many of the amenities, functions and values of wetlands are crucial, not only for the food security of these people, but also for the survival of their cultures. To safeguard and possibly enhance the benefits of development for many communities who subsist on wetlands it is imperative that the benefits of the natural wetland ecosystems including their values for subsistence economies are recognised when planning and implementing development projects. Unfortunately, the importance of wetlands for these communities has been and continues to be too often ignored. While developments may bring economic prosperity or improved food security for the urban populations, often it is the poorer and marginalised people who subsist at the edge of wetlands and who are not involved the development planning that suffer from the negative environmental impacts of such developments. For many of these communities the loss of the wetlands would be tantamount to losing their lifeline. Emerging integrated wetland and water resources management approaches offer mechanisms to involve all stakeholders, to reconcile otherwise conflicting interests and to incorporate in the development plans the intrinsic natural values of wetlands. International conventions (e.g. the Ramsar Convention, Convention on Combating Desertification), and current vision building initiatives (e.g. World Water Vision) contribute to and promote the development of integrated development of policies at the international, national and local levels.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a framework of arboreal-based subsistence system diversification in relation to unexploited ecological opportunities is used for subsistence system model building in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Abstract: Unique arboreal-based subsistence economies emerged in Wallacea, New Guinea and Near Oceania. Initial developments have their roots in the Pleistocene. The developmental history of arboreal-based economies (often called arboriculture) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific is not well understood. A framework of subsistence system diversification in relation to unexploited ecological opportunities is useful for subsistence system model building. The emergence of arboreal-based economies in Island Southeast Asia and Near Oceania has significant implications concerning Pacific prehistory, as Austronesian descendants probably incorporated arboriculture and arboreal resources into their economies and subsequently translocated these to the more distant Pacific islands. The overall framework can be applied to assessing subsistence developments elsewhere.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors categorize different subsistence and commercial uses of resources and quantifies the amount of wood used for firewood and building poles within an eastern Tanzanian miombo woodland site.

Posted ContentDOI
TL;DR: Based on a case study of two Moldovan regions, the paper as mentioned in this paper challenges the favorable assessment of recently established peasant farms in a World Bank study by LERMAN et al. (1998), arguing that private farmers produce only on a minimal fraction of land with almost no machinery or purchased inputs at all.
Abstract: Based on a case study of two Moldovan regions, the paper challenges the favourable assessment of recently established peasant farms in a World Bank study by LERMAN et al. (1998). The main arguments in favour of a more critical view of the results of land privatisation and farm restructuring are that a) private farmers produce only on a minimal fraction of land with almost no machinery or purchased inputs at all, b) the income of a typical farm household is below a poverty line based on national standards, c) private farmers face substantial production and marketing risks, d) at present, it is unlikely that short- or long-term investment projects in agriculture can be credit funded. Currently, peasant farms are mainly run to produce a minimum diet for the affiliated household. The situation thus gives little reason for rosy future perspectives concerning a market-oriented, commercial private agriculture.

Book
01 Mar 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, Chatthip and the Thai Village economy in the past are discussed. But the focus is on the past and not the present, as discussed in this paper.
Abstract: Author's Preface to the TranslationTranslator's NoteThe Thai Village Economy in the PastPreface1.From the Primordial Village Community to the Village under the SakdinaSystem 2.The Subsistence Village Economy under the Sakdina System, 1455-1855 3.From the Subsistence Village Economy to the Commercial Economy in theCentral Region, 1855-1932 4.The Persistence of the Subsistence Village Economy in the North, South, andIsan, 1855-19325.ConclusionNotesAppendix 1: Question Guide for Interviewing VillagersAppendix 2: Details of IntervieweesAfterword: Chatthip and the Thai Village

01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: The main cause for the upsurge in the sector has been the transformation of aquaculture from an “art” form to a “science”, which brought many advantages, ranging from less dependence on wild stock to the development of techniques that optimized yields, or enabled the achievement of high yields with low inputs.
Abstract: In modern times, not many primary industries have consistently recorded high yearly growth over a period of two decades. Aquaculture has sustained a global growth, continues to grow, and is expected to increasingly fill the shortfall in aquatic food products resulting from static or declining capture fisheries and population increase well into the year 2025. Its further growth and development will have to occur under a different socio-economic milieu in the new millennium. The basic paradigm changes will be from an increased production at almost any cost, to a sustainable increase in production with minimal environmental perturbations. Despite such paradigm changes, aquaculture will increasingly contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and social equity. The contribution of aquaculture to world food supply of aquatic products has been increasing over the past 10 years, in comparison to capture fisheries, growing from 15 to 28 percent of total production between 1988 and 1997. As the bulk of aquaculture is rural and subsistence, it plays a major role as a provider of direct and indirect employment to the rural poor and, thereby, to poverty alleviation. In many developing countries, aquaculture provides opportunities for diversification on agriculture farms and productive use to otherwise idle land during certain seasons. The main cause for the upsurge in the sector has been the transformation of aquaculture from an “art” form to a “science”. This brought many advantages, ranging from less dependence on wild stock to the development of techniques that optimized yields, such as polyculture, or enabled the achievement of high yields with low inputs. Two major developments also enabled the sector to maintain growth momentum, appropriate institutional frameworks and concerted research and development. Regions or continents have many commonalities. These include the predominance of finfish among the cultivated species, and the predominance of species that feed lower in the food chain, although shrimp, which does not naturally feed high in the trophic level but is mostly reared on artificial feed, has become a significant culture commodity. Notable differences, however, include the fact that all regions, except Africa and the countries of the former USSR, have recorded a significant increase in per capita production between 1984 and 1997. While Asia continues to dominate world aquaculture in overall tonnage, as well as in every major commodity, South America has registered a very high (72.8 percent) average annual growth between 1984 and 1997. The global and regional trends over the last 20 years in the sector from a number of perspectives, such as production trends, contribution of aquaculture to aquatic food consumption etc., are evaluated. Based on these different trends and in the light of changing socio-economic conditions globally, and in particular, in developing nations, the potential changes in the sector in the new millennium are highlighted. Finally, projections are made for the next 20 years, where opportunities, constraints and strategies for achieving the targets are presented and discussed.

Book
13 Nov 2000
TL;DR: Kulikoff as mentioned in this paper offers a sweeping new interpretation of the origins and development of the small farm economy in Britain's mainland American colonies, and traces patterns of settlement, analyzes the growth of markets, and assesses the impact of the Revolution on small farm society.
Abstract: With this book, Allan Kulikoff offers a sweeping new interpretation of the origins and development of the small farm economy in Britain's mainland American colonies. Examining the lives of farmers and their families, he tells the story of immigration to the colonies, traces patterns of settlement, analyzes the growth of markets, and assesses the impact of the Revolution on small farm society. Beginning with the dispossession of the peasantry in early modern England, Kulikoff follows the immigrants across the Atlantic to explore how they reacted to a hostile new environment and its Indian inhabitants. He discusses how colonists secured land, built farms, and bequeathed those farms to their children. Emphasizing commodity markets in early America, Kulikoff shows that without British demand for the colonists' crops, settlement could not have begun at all. Most important, he explores the destruction caused during the American Revolution, showing how the war thrust farmers into subsistence production and how they only gradually regained their prewar prosperity. |A sweeping new interpretation of the origins and development of the small farm economy of Britain's American colonies. Examining the lives of farmers and their wives, children, servants, and slaves, Alan Kulikoff tells the story of immigration to the colonies, traces patterns of settlement, analyzes the growth of market relations among settlers, and assesses the impact of the Revolution on small farm society.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The legacy of traditional agriculture demonstrates that the combination of stable and diverse production, internally generated and maintainable inputs, favourable energy input/output ratios, and articulation with both subsistence and market needs, comprises an effective approach to achieve food security.
Abstract: SUMMARY Today in Latin America there are still regions with microcosms of traditional farming systems, (i.e. in Mesoamerica, the Andean region, and the Amazon Basin) that have emerged over centuries of cultural and biological evolution. These are based on locally available resources and the cultivation of a diversity of crops and varieties in time and space, and have allowed traditional farmers to maximize harvest security and the multiple use of the landscape with limited environmental impact. Agro-biodiverse traditional agroecosystems represent a strategy which ensures diverse diets and income sources, stable production, minimum risk, efficient use of land resources, and enhanced ecological integrity. This legacy of traditional agriculture demonstrates that the combination of stable and diverse production, internally generated and maintainable inputs, favourable energy input/output ratios, and articulation with both subsistence and market needs, comprises an effective approach to achieve food security, ...


01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: An ethnozoological research was carried out in the Tabora District (central-western Tanzania) from December '95 to February '96, to gather information on the sustainable exploitation of wildlife there and to outline the zoological culture of the native people.
Abstract: An ethnozoological research was carried out in the Tabora District (central-western Tanzania) from December '95 to February '96, to gather information on the sustainable exploitation of wildlife there and to outline the zoological culture of the native people (the Banyamwezi). The objective was to describe the hunting activity and the techniques employed in capturing wild mammals and to gather quantitative data on game harvest. An inventory of the mammal species living in the study area was conducted by three different methods: (1) direct field observation of animals and their tracks; (2) identification of animals captured by the villagers; (3) interviews with the hunters. The activities of 10 local hunters from seven villages were followed during a nine week period. The number of mammals killed and the techniques used for each species were recorded. Other data were collected through interviews of the villagers and concerned (1) the use of every species as food or for other purposes; (2) the species considered as pests; (3) the best places and time for hunting the different species; (4) the time spent hunting them; (5) the food restrictions and taboos; (6) the extent of the bushmeat market (quantity, price, etc.). A total of 236 animals belonging to 37 species were killed during the study period with the following breakdown into taxonomic groups: Bovidae (44.06%), Carnivora (22.88%), Lagomorpha (8.05%), Rodentia (7.2%), diurnal Primates (5.93%), Insectivora (4.23%), Hyracoidea (0.84%), nocturnal Primates (0.84%), Hippopotamidae (0.42%) and Pholidota (0.42%). Four different techniques were used by local hunters in the study area: guns (53.81%), traps (19.06%), spears (11.01%) and dogs (16.01%). Poaching is rampant because of the scarcity of ranger staff and vehicles for patrolling.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 2000-Oceania
TL;DR: In this paper, the formation and working of a green mining workforce in a Papua New Guinea (PNG) mine is described and analyzed, and the transformation of this tribal people into a modern wage-earning workforce is addressed.
Abstract: This paper looks at the formation and working of a ‘green mining workforce’ in a Papua New Guinea (PNG) mine. It describes and analyses a group of tribesmen whose entry into the modern wage-earning workforce has resulted from the establishment of a large mining project in their area. The Porgeran tribesmen2, of the Highlands of PNG have embraced the concept of monetary employment and quickly assimilated into the mining work environment. However, their admission into wage employment has been achieved through a series of personal and workplace challenges, as anticipated of any transitory workforce. The paper discusses those challenges and also takes into consideration the views and perceptions of non-Porgeran mining workers towards them. Hence, one of the major objectives of this paper is to address the transformation of this tribal people into a modern wage-earning workforce. It concludes by identifying possible avenues for anthropological studies of such groups of people to record their peculiar perceptions of, and attitudes to, an alien but promising new alternative to their subsistence life style.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the "myth of the urban peasant", the widespread belief that urban Russian households are surviving the collapse of employment and money incomes by turning to subsistence agriculture.
Abstract: This paper explores, the ‘myth of the urban peasant’, the widespread belief that urban Russian households are surviving the collapse of employment and money incomes by turning to subsistence agriculture. On the basis of the analysis of official and survey data the paper shows that although many urban households grow food in their garden plots, those with low money incomes are the least likely to do so, while subsistence production is a complement rather than an alternative to paid employment. Moreover, those who do grow their own food work long hours for very little return, spending no less of their money income on buying food than do those who grow nothing. The implication is that dacha use is a leisure activity of the better-off rather than a survival strategy of the poor. Regional data suggests that urban agricultural production persists in those regions in which commercial agriculture and monetised relations are least developed which, it is surmised, retain memories of past shortages.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model to define a threshold size of holding that would have allowed a typical family to sustain a subsistence standard of living, at the very least, and, in addition, to finance the purchase of basic investment goods in order to ensure the productive viability of the holding.
Abstract: S cholars of medieval England often portray the thirteenth century as an era of aggregate economic growth reflected in the expansion of settlement and the growing commercial ties between town and country. It is doubtful, however, whether aggregate growth was accompanied by an increase in real per caput incomes given the level of yields (stagnant, at best) and the upward trajectory of prices. The events that were ushered in with the coming of the fourteenth century, particularly the famines of 1315-22, seem to support the pessimists' view which centres around the concept of a structural crisis. Broadly based generalizations, however, cry out for empirical verification. Manorial records have provided relatively abundant information on the production of demesne enterprises, even leading to the revision of the traditional view that spoke of stagnation in universal terms. But the debate will never be settled until the economic role of peasant holdings is brought to light. Given the fact that peasants controlled most of the land, further research on the subject is of the highest priority; it is unlikely, however, that the harvest will be bountiful, given the paucity of records. An alternative approach would be to engage in modelling peasant budgets. Abstract by definition, this approach seeks to collate pieces of the fragmented evidence regarding the basic variables that defined the material standards of a fictional household; in doing so, it has to ignore regional particularities and extreme temporal variations. The final product provides a testing ground for the grand theories of medieval growth and development, albeit by sacrificing a certain degree of realism. Such theoretical exercises can be very useful as long as they specify clear objectives from the outset. The present model will attempt to define a threshold size of holding that would have allowed a typical family to sustain a subsistence standard of living, at the very least, and, in addition, to finance the purchase of basic investment goods in order to ensure the productive viability of the holding. In contrast to some previous attempts-to be discussed in the third section-which treat the consump

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined the conversion from a rubber-based economy into production modes making broader use of forest resources in the northern Bolivian Amazon and found that increased commercialization of Brazil nuts, palm hearts, and timber largely offset progressively lower incomes from rubber exploitation.
Abstract: Commercial exploitation of non-timber forest products has been playing a major role in the northern Bolivian Amazon for more than a century. Initially relying on the exploitation of rubber, the regional economy underwent a first diversification as a consequence of the post-World War I rubber crisis: rubber tapping became supplemented with subsistence agriculture and Brazil nut extraction. This mode of making one's living prevailed in the region for several decades until Bolivian rubber trade came to a standstill in the early 1990s. The recent rubber crisis called again for substantial modifications of the regional economy. This paper examines the conversion from a rubber-based economy into production modes making broader use of forest resources. A village- level survey conducted in 163 rural settlements gave evidence that increased commercialization of Brazil nuts, palm hearts, and timber largely offset progressively lower incomes from rubber exploitation. In addition subsistence and market-orien...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The impact of increase in population on land use and subsistence pattern was examined in two environmentally contrasting Huli-speaking communities, Heli and Wenani, in the Tari basin in Papua New Guinea Highlands.
Abstract: The impact of increase in population on land use and subsistence pattern was examined in two environmentally contrasting Huli-speaking communities, Heli and Wenani, in the Tari basin in Papua New Guinea Highlands. Despite the similar extent of population increase in both communities, the damage to land differed markedly. In Heli, a decrease in land productivity owing to excessive agricultural use has induced farmers to shorten the fallow duration, which in turn has led to further land degradation and difficulties in increasing food production. In contrast, Wenani villagers have coped with the population increase by enlarging areas for cultivation and possibly will be able to double their present production level, although increasingly frequent disputes over land rights have restricted peoples' access to fertile areas. During a period of climatic perturbations in 1994, land and labor productivities of crops were three times higher in Wenani than in Heli, which suffered a severe food shortage. This difference in ability to cope with climatic perturbations may have increased with population growth. The findings in the present study suggest that the effects of population pressure on food production may differ between communities, depending on the indigenous environment and subsistence pattern.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effects of national park policies on food sufficiency and economic security of the people living in these protected areas and highlighted the history and socioeconomic perspectives of these policies in general and recently emerging wildlife problems in particular.
Abstract: In this paper the National Park policies of the two Himalayan Kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan are put in a complementary perspective. It aims at investigating the effects of national parks, established by initiatives based on a global discourse having evolved from economically developed countries, on food sufficiency and economic security of the people living in these protected areas. The history and socio-economic perspectives of these policies in general and recently emerging wildlife problems in particular are highlighted. The administrative and financial capacities of both countries turn out not to be adequate to meet emerging stress in the sphere of protecting nature, and wildlife in particular. To meet the goal of integrating prospects of human survival and the conservation of habitats for rare plants and animals locally accepted and appropriate ways of management have to be developed. The management of protected areas in Nepal and Bhutan shows a rather poor capacity or a low degree of acceptance on the side of government administration. The daily life of farmers in protected areas is threatened either by policing or abundance of wildlife and inadequate measures to assist the local population to overcome the shortcomings of nature conservation administration. Compensation schemes for wildlife damages, for instance, could be a helpful instrument to meet ambitious schemes to protect nature and relief the local population in remote areas of least developed countries, where means to make a living from other than subsistence farming are not easily available.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Abu-Rabia et al. as discussed by the authors argue that Bedouin contribute little to the region's national economies, that they live apart from the settled population and produce only for their own subsistence.
Abstract: Introduction The governments in the Middle East have always tended to treat the Bedouin as second rate citizens. Even today many government spokesmen argue that the Bedouin contribute little to the region's national economies, that they live apart from the settled population and produce only for their own subsistence (see, for instance, the articles in Arab League 1965 (1); Abou Zeid 1996). The Bedouin's nomadic way of life is viewed as little more than an attempt to opt out of civil obligations, such as military service and payment of taxes. By settling the Bedouin, governments hoped to make them more productive and more governable. As they were thought to practise a subsistence economy (see, for instance, Cole 1975: 145), the economic dislocation and loss of production caused by settlement was often ignored. On the contrary, the officials believed that as settled peasants the Bedouin would at last enter the market economy. The preconceptions of the government officials as to the nature of the nomads affected their settlement policies: they tended to concentrate on housing groups in permanent villages and on converting them to agriculture. During the nineteenth century governments made numerous attempts to forcibly settle Bedouin. For a while these projects seemed to work, but as soon as the authorities averted their watchful gaze, the Bedouin resumed their pastoral way of life (Sachau 1883: 264). This should have been self-evident, for animal husbandry requires larger inputs of labour and capital than farming, and generally yields higher incomes (Abu-Rabia 1994: 107-127). King Ibn Sa'ud clearly knew this, when he settled his Bedouin militias (ikhwan) in agricultural colonies from 1912 onward. He intentionally deprived the men of their pastoral resources in order to make them dependent and pliant. They were meant to rely on regular subventions paid by the state in return for military services (Kostiner 1991: 230-32). By the 1960s most of the inhabitants of these settlements had returned to a pastoral way of life (Cole 1975: 124). A more effective, and no less harmful, policy was applied in Syria and Iraq; it allowed chiefs to acquire large tracts of tribal pasture and convert them to agriculture. This left the poorer members of the tribe little choice but to become sharecroppers of their chiefs, while wealthier ones continued their profitable pastoral activities (Stein 1967: 105-108; Abujaber 1989: 177-196). The oil-rich post Second World War Gulf states did not need to engage in forcible sedentarisation. A different economic constellation had transformed the issue of Bedouin control. Most Bedouin men sought work in the oil industry, which offered higher rewards than animal husbandry. Their families back in the tribal territories maintained a permanent home base, to which the men returned during leaves. The women and children remained `at home' and continued to raise animals as a hedge against unemployment and other expected mishaps. While the income from wage labour was good, animals were not put up for sale (Asche 1981: 138). But if the men lost their jobs, they would return home, revive the alternative economy and make a living out of it (this has been shown for South Sinai; see Marx 1987). Most tribesman were enrolled in the National Guard, and thus received another salary. Periodically they were called up for short training periods and were thus at the beck and call of the authorities. In the sparsely populated countries of the Gulf, land became valuable only when particular resources, such as oil wells, urban infrastructures and services, were attached to it. Therefore the State could impound large areas, at little cost to itself, and mm them into military installations, oilfields or tourist sites, such as nature reserves (see Chatty, in this issue). In the absence of a local infrastructure of capital, knowledge and skills, foreign investors and tourists were expected to make a large and rapid contribution to the economy. …

Book
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, case studies reveal that farm women in Africa, Asia and Latin America are rapidly becoming more than "subsistence producers" and explore societal and domestic changes brought about as women move to positions as wage labourers, contract growers and farm owners.
Abstract: In this volume, case studies reveal that farm women in Africa, Asia and Latin America are rapidly becoming more than "subsistence producers". It explores the societal and domestic changes brought about as women move to positions as wage labourers, contract growers and farm owners.