What are the two types of subsistence agriculture practised in different countries of the world? Describe the main features of these types.

Subsistence agriculture is one in which the agricultural areas consume all, or nearly so, of the products locally grown. There are two types of Subsistence Agriculture and they are – Primitive Subsistence Agriculture and Intensive Subsistence Agriculture.

Primitive Subsistence Agriculture

• The vegetation is usually cleared by fire, and the ashes add to the fertility of the soil. Shifting cultivation is thus, also called slash and burn agriculture.

• One of the major problems of shifting cultivation is that the cycle of jhum becomes less and less due to the loss of fertility in different parcels.

• It is known in different names in different regions, e.g. Jhuming in Northeastern states of India, Milpa in Central America and Mexico and Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

• This type of agriculture is largely found in densely populated regions of monsoon Asia.

• There are mainly two types of Intensive subsistence Agriculture and they are Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation and Intensive subsidence agriculture dominated by crops other than paddy.

• In these types of farming the farmers work with the help of the family labour.

• The usage of machinery is very limited in these types of farming and most labourers are used to farm the agricultural land.