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.

Wik: Aboriginal society, territory and language at Cape Keerweer, Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Abstract: nnnnn This is a sociolinguistic study of an Australian Aboriginal community of western Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Its initial chapter begins with a review of the theoretical literature relevant to the construct of qlinguistic communityq, discusses the Australianist debate over the so-called qdialectal tribeq and surveys the literature on the Wik-speaking peoples. The second chapter presents a description of ecology, subsistence, land tenure and demography in the Cape Keerweer area. It is shown that a pattern of predominant dialectal exogamy is related to the number of dialectally similar clans and the extent to which their territories are contiguous; residence groups are normally poly-lingual. The third chapter discusses social identity, social institutions and personal networks, and lays stress on the relatively unimportant role of dialectal affiliation in political life . There is a lack of congruence between different forms of personal and group identification. The fourth chapter includes a brief description of the dialects of the area, their distribution, relatedness and history. The fifth chapter explores the selection of speech varieties within and across dialects, and the implications of this subtle, complex, selective behaviour for linguistic change. The conclusion foreshadows an expanded model of linguistic community that starts from the primacy of social interaction, in which the flux of personal and group politics is in a feedback relationship with social institutions, values and linguistic competence.

Teparies in southwestern North America

Abstract: Ethnohistorically, wild and domesticated teparies (Phaseolus acutifolius: Leguminosae) are significant native food crops in southwestern North America. Their value rests in adaptations to arid environments, and high protein content and productivity. Use of wild teparies appears to be discontinued, but certain domesticated varieties are still grown by local commercial and subsistence farmers. The recent subsidence of tepary cultivation is related to breakdown of traditional economies and land use, and to the introduction of energy-intensive irrigated agriculture. An earlier and unsuccessful attempt to introduce teparies into modern agriculture was poorly timed. Teparies have considerable potential for low maintenance agriculture in arid and semi-arid lands.

'Fishing farmers' or 'farming fishermen'? The quest for household income and nutritional security on the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria

Abstract: The paper considers the relationships between fishing and farming in providing household income and nutritional security among Luo communities on the shores of the Kenyan sector of Lake Victoria. In recent years the resources of Lake Victoria have come under severe pressure due to a variety of economic and ecological factors associated with over-fishing and a significant decline in fish species. Farming has increased in importance as households attempt to meet subsistence needs, but plot fragmentation, drought and low investment have led to poor crop yields. Future development strategies need to enhance the sustainability of the resources of both lake and land, and possibly build upon traditional management methods and institutions. THIS STUDY AIMS TO SHED LIGHT upon two key issues relating to change and development in traditional African food production systems. Firstly, remarkably little has been written on the socio-economic aspects of artisanal fishing systems in Africa, in spite of the fact that fish provides a rich source of protein in a continent where there is a widespread and often chronic shortage of animal products.1 Secondly, in the face of popular media images of a continent constantly plagued by human and environmental problems, recent research has demonstrated that many traditional African food production systems are, in fact surprisingly resilient. This resilience is frequently based upon a wide range of indigenous 'coping mechanisms', the essence of which is the detailed appreciation and utilization of the filll spatial and ecological diversity of the resource base, to