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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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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.

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 Alaska communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change.
Abstract: Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends on consistent opportunities for wage employment and availability of affordable fuel. Recent qualitative research suggested that rising fuel prices have disrupted subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic. Our objectives were to collaborate with subsistence users in rural Alaskan communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change. We conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 communities. During the last 10 years, 81% of the harvesters reduced the distance they traveled for subsistence and 89% reduced the number of subsistence trips they took because of gasoline costs. During the last 10 years, the median distance traveled to perform subsistence decreased by 60%, and the median annual number of trips taken to perform subsistence decreased by 75%. The change in subsistence activity was similar across and within communities. Eighty-five percent of the people interviewed reported that they were making sacrifices with serious consequences, such as putting off paying monthly bills, to buy gasoline for subsistence activities. To adapt to high gasoline prices, most participants said that they are using more efficient modes of transportation (69%), followed by more sharing of gasoline costs with family and friends (37%), and conducting more multipurpose subsistence trips (20%). With subsistence practices being critical to food security and cultural identity in the Arctic, our results suggest that unaffordable fuel has threatened social resilience. Because global markets drive gasoline prices, we suggest that future research focus on the effectiveness of adaptation options that build resilience into subsistence systems.

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored local observations of climate changes and related impacts on subsistence fisheries in three Inupiat communities in northwest Alaska and six Athabascan communities in the Yukon River drainage.
Abstract: Given current and projected warming trends in the Arctic and the important role played by subsistence hunting and fishing in the life of northern rural communities, it is increasingly important to document local observations of climate change and its impacts on livelihood practices. We describe ethnographic research exploring local observations of climate changes and related impacts on subsistence fisheries in three Inupiat communities in northwest Alaska and six Athabascan communities in the Yukon River drainage. We found consistent agreement among perceptions concerning a broad range of environmental changes affecting subsistence practices in these communities. These observations of environmental changes are not experienced in isolation but within the context of accompanying social changes that are continually reshaping rural Alaskan communities and subsistence economies. In this paper we reflect on our research approach combining multiple methods of inquiry. Participant observation and semidirected interviews provided the conceptual framework for broadening our focus from climate and environmental change to community residents’ understanding of climate change in the context of their holistic human-environment worldview. Cultural consensus analysis allowed us to assess the extent to which perceptions of change are shared among hunters and fishers within and between villages and regions and to identify those phenomena occurring or experienced at smaller scales. Reflecting on this multimethods approach, we highlight important questions that have emerged about how we understand, synthesize, and represent local knowledge, especially as it is used in regulatory or management arenas.

49 citations

Posted ContentDOI
TL;DR: The role of agriculture in Central and Eastern European rural development was discussed at the IAMO Forum 2004 as discussed by the authors, which was held in Halle (Saale), Germany from 4 to 6 November 2004.
Abstract: This volume of proceedings, available both as hard copy and pdf , is an edited compilation of selected contributions to the IAMO Forum 2004, which will be held in Halle (Saale), Germany, at the Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe from 4 to 6 November 2004. CONTENTS: The role of agriculture in Central and Eastern European rural development: an overview; Martin Petrick, Peter Weingarten. Subsistence Farming and Rural Unemployment - the Case of Slovakia; Gejza Blaas. Rural Development in Albania and the Role of Agriculture: a Case Study in the Prefecture of Elbasan; Vittorio Gallerani, Nada Krypa, Meri Raggi, Antonella Samoggia, Davide Viaggi. Agricultural Problems in Georgia and Strategic Policy Responses; Zurab Revishvili, Henry W. Kinnucan. The Role of Private Household Plots in Russian Rural Development; Galina Rodionova. Agriculture in Southeastern Poland - Main Problems of The Systemic Transformation Process; Janusz Zmija, Ewa Tyran. Factor Market Imperfections and Polarization of Agrarian Structures in Central and Eastern Europe; Alexander Sarris, Sara Savastano, Christian Tritten. Agricultural Credit Market in Poland - Experiences in the Market Economy; Alina Danilowska. Social Aspects of Agricultural Employment in the Czech Republic; Hana Horska, Daniela Spěsna, Jan Drlik, Radomir Koutný, Tomas Ratinger. Lease as a Form of Land Consolidation in Moldavian Agriculture; Dragos Cimpoies, Grigore Baltag. Analysing Variation in Russian Dairy Farms, 1990-2001; Irina Bezlepkina, Ruud Huirne, Alfons Oude Lansink, Arie Oskam. The Role of Agriculture for Rural Development in a less favoured Rural Area: The Experience of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany); Theodor Fock. Wine, Sand and Socialism: Some enduring Effects of Hungary's 'Flexible' Model of Collectivization; Chris Hann. Off-Farm Activities and Subsistence Farming in CEE Countries - A Statistical Approach; Franz Greif. Agricultural Productivity Growth: a Vehicle For Rural Poverty Reduction in Ukraine? Viktoriya Galushko, Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel. Institutional Factors Influencing Agricultural Sales of the Individual Farmers in Romania; Borbala Balint. Social Capital in Rural Areas of Latvia within the Context of Public Organisations; Modrite Pelse. The Effects of Social Capital on the Organization of Agricultural Enterprises and Rural Communities in Transition: the Case of Ukraine; Vladislav Valentinov, Tetyana Matsibora, Mykola Malik. Farm Tourism: Myth or Reality? Stefan Bojnec. Biomass Production as a Future Agricultural Development Factor in West Pomerania (Poland); Jaroslaw Senczyszyn, Agnieszka Brelik. Rural Implications of Foreign Direct Investments in the Food Industry of the Visegrad Countries; Csaba Jansik. The Impact of Information Society on Agriculture and Rural Areas Development; Anton Nedyalkov, Victoria Borisova. Agricultural Policy and Rural Development: Theoretical and Empirical Aspects; Heinz Ahrens. A Tailor-Made Common Agricultural Policy for the Accession Countries: Help or Harm for Agriculture in Eastern Europe? David Sedik. Evaluation of the Effects of Pre-Accession and Accession Instruments on the Development of the Northeast Region in Bulgaria; Plamen Mishev, Antoaneta Golemanova. Measures of Rural Development Policy in Russia; Alexander Petrikov. Priority Setting for Rural Development: an Interactive PC-Based Programming Approach; Dieter Kirschke, Astrid Hager, Kurt Jechlitschka, Stefan Wegener

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a Tobit regression model was used to determine predictor variables for farmers' decisions to allocate land to planting Acacia decurrens (J.C. Wendl.) and at what density trees are planted on the respective plots.
Abstract: The development of woodlots as an additional source of livelihood and as a land management option for small-scale farmers is a challenging issue in the cereal-based subsistence farming systems of north-western Ethiopia. There is a need to understand why and which factors determine the decisions of small-scale farmers to grow short-rotation woodlots on their land. Data used in this study were collected from a survey of 200 randomly selected households in the region. A Tobit regression model was used to determine predictor variables for farmers’ decisions to allocate land to planting Acacia decurrens (J.C. Wendl.) Willd. and at what density trees are planted on the respective plots. The most important motivations for planting A. decurrens were income, soil fertility management, and soil and water conservation. Having a male head of household, long distance to markets and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased the allocation of land to A. decurrens woodlots. Having a male head of household, access to credit and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased tree planting density. Age had a negative effect on both allocation of land to woodlots and tree density, whereas farm size had an inverted U-shaped relationship with both decisions. These results suggest that wider expansion of A. decurrens-based plantation systems could be achieved through improving extension, credit access and road infrastructure to connect small-scale farmers to markets and finance.

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