Question

Describe the main characteristics of Intensive Subsistence Agriculture. In which parts of the world this type of agriculture is practiced?

What is intensive subsistence agriculture? What are its types?

Answer 1

Intensive subsistence agriculture is practiced in the poorer regions of the world, where farmers grow crops for family consumption. Very little is left as a surplus for the market. There are two types of

• Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation: 
  Is characterized by the dominance of the rice crop. Landholdings are very small due to the high density of population. Farmers work with the help of family labour leading to intensive use of land. The use of machinery is limited and most of the agricultural operations are done by manual labour. Farmyard manure is used to maintain the fertility of the soil. In this type of agriculture, the yield per unit area is high but per labour productivity is low.
• Intensive subsidence agriculture is dominated by crops other than paddy:
  Due to the difference in relief, climate, soil, and some of other geographical factors, it is not practical to grow paddy in many parts of monsoon Asia. Wheat, soybean, barley and sorghum are grown in northern China, Manchuria, North Korea and North Japan. In India wheat is grown in western parts of the Indo- Gangetic plains and millets are grown in dry parts of western and southern India. Most of the characteristics of this type of agriculture are similar to those dominated by wet paddy except that irrigation is often used.

Answer 2

Intensive subsistence agriculture is practiced in the poorer regions of the world, where farmers grow crops for family consumption. Very little is left as a surplus for the market. There are two types of

• Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation: – Is characterized by the dominance of the rice crop. Landholdings are very small due to the high density of population. Farmers work with the help of family labour leading to intensive use of land. The use of machinery is limited and most of the agricultural operations are done by manual labour. Farmyard manure is used to maintain the fertility of the soil. In this type of agriculture, the yield per unit area is high but per labour productivity is low.
• Intensive subsidence agriculture is dominated by crops other than paddy: Due to the difference in relief, climate, soil, and some of the other geographical factors, it is not practical to grow paddy in many parts of monsoon Asia. Wheat, soybean, barley and sorghum are grown in northern China, Manchuria, NorthKorea and North Japan. In India wheat is grown in western parts of the Indo- Gangetic plains and millets are grown in dry parts of western and southern India. Most of the characteristics of this type of agriculture are similar to those dominated by wet paddy except that irrigation is often used.