Question

What are the special features of subsistence farming?

Answer 1

1. Self-Consumption Focus: Crops are cultivated primarily to meet the immediate food requirements of the farmer’s family, leaving little to no surplus for market sale.
2. Small Landholdings: Farms are highly fragmented and small in size, making the use of heavy modern agricultural machinery impractical.
3. Traditional Methods: It relies heavily on manual family labour, primitive farming tools, and natural manure rather than advanced technology or chemical fertilizers.
4. Food Crop Dominance: Cultivation heavily prioritizes staple food grains, such as rice and wheat, over commercial cash crops.
5. Monsoon Dependency: It depends predominantly on natural rainfall, with very limited access to assured irrigation facilities.