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Subsistence agriculture

About: Subsistence agriculture is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8069 publications have been published within this topic receiving 156876 citations. The topic is also known as: subsistence farming.


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03 Dec 2001
TL;DR: The authors The Village, the City and the Outside World: Integration and Exclusion in Two Regions of Rural Poland FPine Work, Identity and Urban/Rural Relations DKaneff Urban Peasants in a Post-Socialist World: Small-Scale Agriculturalists in Hungary ACzegledy Index
Abstract: List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction: Post-Socialist Peasants PLeonard & DKaneff Peasant Consciousness JFlower Old Corn New Corn PLeonard Just a Peasant: Economy and Legacy in Northern Vietnam RMAbrami Rural Identities in Transition: Particle Persons and Partial Peasants in Post-Soviet Russia LPerrotta Subsistence Farming and the Peasantry as an Idea in Contemporary Russia CHumphrey The Village, the City and the Outside World: Integration and Exclusion in Two Regions of Rural Poland FPine Work, Identity and Urban/Rural Relations DKaneff Urban Peasants in a Post-Socialist World: Small-Scale Agriculturalists in Hungary ACzegledy Index

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a study was conducted to understand how floodplain dwellers regard the risk of flooding, and the results of analysis showed that the population regards most important the causes of floods as heavy, prolonged rainfall and river overflow, and they have little knowledge of the frequency of severe floods, and flood alleviation schemes.

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the role of indigenous concepts of labour value in the transition from subsistence to market production in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, in close proximity to village-based oil palm growers.
Abstract: A relatively neglected area of research on agrarian and economic change is the role of indigenous concepts of labour value in the transition from subsistence to market production. In West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, the presence of a migrant population on an oil palm land settlement scheme (LSS) in close proximity to village-based oil palm growers, provided an opportunity to examine changing notions of labour value through the lens of smallholder productivity. Voluntary settlers on the LSS are experiencing population pressure and are highly dependent on oil palm for their livelihoods. In contrast, customary landowners in village settings produce oil palm in a situation of relative land abundance. By examining differences in how these two groups practise and value commodity production, the paper makes four key points. First, concepts of labour value are not static and involve struggles over how labour value is defined. Second, the transition to market-based notions of labour value can undermine labour's social value with a consequent weakening of social relationships within and between families. Third, Theories of Value developed in western contexts and used to frame development policies and projects in the developing world are often inappropriate and even harmful to the welfare of communities that have different registers of value. Fourth, in response to Point 3, and following Rigg (2007), there is a need for ‘theorising upwards’ using empirical data from the developing world to inform theory rather than applying to the developing world models of sociality and economy developed in western contexts.

49 citations

01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: Gouse et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated the socioeconomic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa and highlighted methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socioeconomic impact assessments and to contextualize research findings.
Abstract: In 1997/98, South Africa became the first country in Africa to have a GM crop produced on a commercial level, with the release of insect-resistant (Bt) cotton. Bt maize was approved for commercial production in 1998/99, and Bt yellow maize was planted in that same season. The first plantings of Bt white maize two years later in 2001/02 established South Africa as the first GM subsistence-crop producer in the world. Commercialization of herbicide-tolerant (HT) maize followed in 2003/ 04, and “stacked” traits Bt+HT (BR) maize was released for the 2007/08 production season. Adoption of GM crops by South African commercial farmers has been impressive. In the 2009/10 production season, approximately 69% of the total South African maize area was planted to GM maize, with Bt maize alone covering 43% of total area. GM cotton covered 92% of South Africa’s total cotton area in 2007/08, and unofficial estimates report the 2009 area at close to 100%. The area under HT soybeans increased from 5% to more than 80% in only six years. The investment focus of the pre-democratic South African government has translated into the geographically inequitable establishment of key support services such as roads; railways; agricultural training centers; and research, extension, and financial services. Smallscale and subsistence farmers in certain areas in the former homelands (such as Transkei and Ciskei in the Eastern Cape) and designated tribal areas (such as KwaZulu [Zululand] in northern KwaZulu-Natal [KZN]) have faced—and still face—various production and marketing constraints that are similar to those of other smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though largescale commercial growers produce the bulk of the national maize crop (generally more than 95%), the GM maize experience of smallholder farmers in South Africa is of great interest to African decision makers throughout the continent, to international food and agricultural organizations, and to the technology innovators. This article sheds light on eight years of research investigating the socio-economic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The main objective of the article is to highlight methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socio-economic impact assessments and, importantly, to contextualize research findings reported in this article and possible future articles. The next section presents an overview of how GM maize was introduced to smallholders in South Africa, which is important for understanding research challenges. The research area, surveys, and data are summarized, followed by research challenges and how these were addressed. Limited project findings are presented in the form of a discussion on the characteristics of early-adopting farmers and an illustration and discusMarnus Gouse University of Pretoria The South African smallholder GM maize experience has been—to date and internationally—the only example where a subsistence crop is produced by smallholder resource poorfarmers using GM seed. Their experience is thus of great interest, especially to African decision makers, international food and agricultural organizations, and the technology innovators. This article sheds light on eight years of research investigating the socio-economic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The main objective of the article is to highlight methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socio-economic impact assessments and to contextualize research findings. Limited project findings are presented in the form of a discussion on the characteristics of early-adopting farmers and the yield impacts of GM maize adoption over the eight season period, emphasizing the variability between seasons and to show how methodological limitations impact research findings.

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the methods of adaptation to climate change used by smallholder farmers and their impacts on household food security using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS).
Abstract: It is anticipated that smallholder subsistence farmers will face severe negative impacts from climate change, with household food security being seriously affected. This paper examines the methods of adaptation to climate change used by smallholder farmers and their impacts on household food security. The necessity to adapt to climate change is caused by a combination of sensitivity and exposure and the success in doing so depends on adaptive capacity. Household food security was determined using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Of the surveyed households, 95 % were aware that climate is changing and expected severe impacts on their crop production systems. Households undertake crop and soil management practices in order to respond to the changing climate. About 83 % of households anticipated that they would alter their livelihoods systems in response to climate change, with 59 % of households indicating that government grants would play an important role in this. Of those assessed, 97 % were severely food insecure and the remaining 3 % were moderately food insecure. Householders were worried about the negative impacts of climate change which included droughts, floods and soil erosion. Householders who were vulnerable to climate change recorded high levels of food insecurity. Decline in prices of farm products, increases in costs of farm inputs and anxiety over occurrence of livestock diseases exacerbated household food insecurity. Information will play a critical role in mitigating the impacts of climate change on household food security but farmers should also be assisted with appropriate input packages, such as seeds and fertilizers that can help them adapt effectively.

49 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023534
20221,101
2021279
2020268
2019297
2018303