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.

The decline of a regional fishing nation: The case of Ghana and West Africa

Abstract: Inadequate trade policies, globalization of the fishing industry, dominance of Europe’s distant water fleets, declarations of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) by neighbouring West African nations, overfishing and a lack of good governance contributed to the decline of Ghana as a regional fishing nation, a position it had held since the 18 th century. The prohibitive cost of access arrangements limited Ghana’s access to distant waters. The country’s marine environments have been impacted by overexploitation of stocks and the use of destructive methods. Subsistence fishing has become the sole means of survival for many fishers. The decline of the fishing sector has limited the country’s ability to meet domestic demand and threatened the economic and food security of many Ghanaians. The article traces the early history of Ghana’s fisheries, their gradual decline during the last four decades, and outlines recommendations for policy changes to address the situation and steer the nation on a course towards sustainable fisheries.

Towards the development of miombo fruit trees as commercial tree crops in southern africa

Abstract: Many rural households rely on indigenous fruit trees as sources of cash and subsistence in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), but until recently there has been little effort to cultivate, improve or add value to these fruits. Since 1989 the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF: now the World Agroforestry Centre) initiated research-and-development work on more than 20 priority indigenous fruit trees in five SADC countries aimed at improving income in rural communities. A participatory approach was used in all stages of their domestication, product development and commercialization. Country-specific priority species were identified in five countries based on discussions with a wide range of users. These species have now become the focus of a regional tree domestication programme. An impact analysis indicates that a robust domestication programme will create incentives for farmer-led investment in the cultivation of indigenous fruit trees, as an alternative to wild...

Disturbance Pharmacopoeias: Medicine and Myth from the Humid Tropics

Abstract: The much-publicized quest for miracle drug plants in tropical rainforests has provided compelling support for the preservationist agenda. This article questions the assumptions that underpin this claim, particularly the myth that pristine forest represents the primary repository of nature's medicinal providence. After tracing colonial European efforts at medicinal plant discovery, intellectual property exploitation, and plant transference and acclimation, I review the recent resurgence of scientific interest in tropical folk pharmacopoeias. In spite of the image marketed by environmental entrepreneurs, the medicinal foraging preference of rural tropical groups is largely successional mosaics of their own creation—trails, kitchen gardens, swiddens, and forest fallows. Focusing on the subsistence transition from hunting and gathering to small-scale cultivation, I propose that disturbance pharmacopoeias are the logical outcome of changing subsistence strategies, ecological processes, and disease pat...

Applying Agroecology to Enhance the Productivity of Peasant Farming Systems in Latin America

Abstract: The great majority of farmers in Latin America are peasants who still farm small plots of land, usually in marginal environments utilizing traditional and subsistence methods. The contribution of the 16 million peasant units to regional food security is, however, substantial. Research has shown that peasant systems, which mostly rely on local resources and complex cropping patterns, are reasonably productive despite their land endowments and low use of external inputs. Moreover analysis of NGO-led agroecological initiatives show that traditional crop and animal systems can be adapted to increase productivity by biologically re-structuring peasant farms which in turn leads to optimization of key agroecosystem processes (nutrient cycling, organic matter accumulation, biological pest regulation, etc.) and efficient use of labor and local resources. Examples of such grassroots projects are herein described to show that agroecological approaches can offer opportunities to substantially increase food production while preserving the natural resource base and empowering rural communities.