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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.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
P. Sillitoe1
TL;DR: The incorporation of indigenous soil and land resource knowledge has recently been advocated to improve their relevance as discussed by the authors, but a common error is uncritically to impose a western scientific model, which may distort understanding.
Abstract: . Scientific land and soil resource surveys have had only limited impacts locally on development and extension practice in the tropics. They are thought to have little relevance for subsistence farmers. Their failure to accommodate local social and cultural priorities is a factor. Soil scientists have, until recently, given little attention to others’ understanding of soil or ‘ethnopedology’. The incorporation of indigenous soil and land resource knowledge has recently been advocated to improve their relevance. But a common error is uncritically to impose a western scientific model, which may distort understanding. The ill-informed, decontextualised knowledge that results may even promote negative interventions. This paper criticises the narrow idea of ‘indigenous technical knowledge’, citing evidence from Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and Indonesia. While we find farmers consistently use some of the same information as scientists to assess soils, their definitions of soils and land types are often at odds. Scientists identify classes by a range of technically assessed properties, whereas farmers may not. Their more holistic approach also accounts in part for the disjunction, frequently incorporating exotic social and cultural aspects. The wider use of indigenous soil notions in agrotechnology transfer may be limited too by some of their intrinsic characteristics, inclined to be location specific, and culturally relative.

110 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on one possible explanation for the empirical evidence of (a) income convergence among the world's poorest countries and among its wealthiest countries, and (b) income divergence among most of the remaining countries.

110 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed and compared the vulnerability of transhumant communities from three districts representing Eastern, Central and Western mountainous region of Nepal and found that the livelihood vulnerability and the climate change vulnerability differ across sites; both of them having lowest index values in the Central region.
Abstract: Climate change vulnerability depends on who you are, where you are and what you do. The indigenous communities who primarily depend on natural resources for subsistence livelihoods are among the first and most affected by climate change. Climate models have predicted pronounced warming in high altitude regions of the Himalayas. The transhumant communities of the Himalayas follow traditional lifestyles based on seasonal livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture. There is however, no information on how vulnerable transhumant communities are to climate change, and how vulnerability of transhumant herders differs across the mountainous areas of Nepal. Based on semi-structured interviews with transhumant herders and using the IPCC climate change vulnerability framework, this study assessed and compared the vulnerability of transhumant communities from three districts representing Eastern, Central and Western mountainous region of Nepal. The results showed that the livelihood vulnerability and the climate change vulnerability differ across sites; both of them having lowest index values in the Central region. The vulnerability dimensions viz. exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are largely influenced by diversity in livelihood strategies, income sources and crops, and access to food, water and health facilities. The findings will inform the design of policies and programmes to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity of indigenous communities in general and the transhumant communities of the Himalayas in particular.

110 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe some tree domestication activities being carried out in southern Cameroon, especially with Irvingia gabonensis (bush mango; dika nut) and Dacryodes edulis (African plum; safoutier).
Abstract: New initiatives in agroforestry are seeking to integrate indigenous trees, whose products have traditionally been gathered from natural forests, into tropical farming systems such as cacao farms. This is being done to provide from farms, marketable timber and non-timber forest products that will enhance rural livelihoods by generating cash for resource-poor rural and peri-urban households. There are many potential candidate species for domestication that have commercial potential in local, regional or even international markets. Little or no formal research has been carried out on many of these hitherto wild species to assess potential for genetic improvement, reproductive biology or suitability for cultivation. With the participation of subsistence farmers a number of projects to bring candidate species into cultivation are in progress, however. This paper describes some tree domestication activities being carried out in southern Cameroon, especially with Irvingia gabonensis (bush mango; dika nut) and Dacryodes edulis (African plum; safoutier). As part of this, fruits and kernels from 300 D. edulis and 150 I gabonensis trees in six villages of Cameroon and Nigeria have been quantitatively characterized for 11 traits to determine combinations defining multi-trait ideotypes for a genetic selection programme, I. gabonensis fruits are rich in vitamin A (67 mg 100 ml -1 ), while the kernels are rich in fat (51.3%) and contain a polysaccharide that is a food thickener. The fruits of D. edulis are also rich in oil (31.9%) and protein (25.9%). This poverty-reducing agroforestry strategy is at the same time linked to one in which perennial, biologically diverse and complex mature-stage agroecosystems are developed as sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture. To meet the objective of poverty reduction, however, it is crucial that market expansion and creation are possible. Hence, for example, it is important to determine which marketable traits are amenable to genetic improvement. While some traits (such as fruit and kernel mass) that benefit the farmer are relatively easy to identify, there are undoubtedly others that are important to the food, pharmaceutical or other industries which require more sophisticated chemical evaluation. There is a need, therefore, for better linkages between agroforesters and the private sector. The domestication activities described are relevant to the enrichment of smallholder cacao farms and agroforests. This diversification is seen as being important for the support of the cacao industry.

109 citations

Book
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, the authors set out major advances in their understanding of tree resources, particularly in relation to increases in agricultural intensification, and the results of research in Asia and Africa are used to relate developments to subsistence needs, market opportunities and risk-taking.
Abstract: Although trees play an important economic and social role in many farming systems, they have until recently been neglected in both agricultural and forestry research. This text sets out major advances in our understanding of tree resources, particularly in relation to increases in agricultural intensification. The results of research in Asia and Africa are used to relate developments to subsistence needs, market opportunities and risk-taking.

109 citations


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