Subsistence Farming
Subsistence farming is practiced when food is produced for consumption. This type of farming is typically found in less developed countries (LDCs).
- food is rarely sold
- most people in LDCs are farmers
- highly dependent on animal power
- subsistence farmers do not own the land; the village chief or council does
- usually involved in both crop and livestock production (interllage)
- uses simple farming techniques
- more eco-friendly
- uses traditional crops and domesticated wild breeds
- need basic equipment (ex: sickle, plough, scythe)
Commercial Farming
Commercial farming produces food for sale off the farm and mostly found in more developed countries (MDCs).
- main objective is to make profits
- usually sells products to food-processing companies
- rarely sells goods directly to consumers
- makes up less than half the workforce in MDCs
- uses sophisticated machinery
- has access to transportation networks
- rely on both inorganic and organic fertilizers and pesticides
- use modern techniques (ex: crop rotation, hybrid plants, and other recent scientific improvements)
- typically produces one or two livestock or crops on a large scale (monoculture)
What they both have in common?
By now, you can probably tell these two types of farming are very different. However, they still share a few things in common:
- utilize organic fertilizers
- use farming techniques
- produce food
- raise animals
- have farming equipment
- grow crops
How do they affect the world?
The type of farming practiced in each country makes a pretty decent impact on the economy. Since the food produced from subsistence farming is rarely sold, the farmer doesn't usually make profits. In other words, they generally don't earn money and cannot buy things. Which means they typically don't contribute to improving their country's economy. Commercial farming, on the other hand, allow farmers to make plenty of profits. One type of commercial farming called plantation farming allows MDCs to generate a substantial amount of wealth. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of the LDCs, also known as Periphery and Semi-Periphery regions. The MDCs, otherwise known as the Core regions, exploit workers in the Semi-Periphery and Periphery regions. They work for low pay and are uprooted from their land. Also, all profits that the Core regions make, go to the Core regions and do not improve the economy of the Semi-Periphery and Periphery regions. The Core region's economy improves which provides the people of the Core regions with many benefits. Some examples of these benefits are improved public services, reduced unemployment, and less poverty. These benefits can result in an improved standard of living.
The environment is affected in several ways by these two types of farming. Commercial farming utilizes many pesticides and fertilizers that aren't always organic. These pesticides and fertilizers can cause non point source pollution and degrade the soil. Traces of these chemicals can be found in the food we eat. However, not everything about commercial farming is bad. Commercial farming utilizes some of the newest techniques for farming such as crop rotation which returns nutrients to the soil. Although subsistence farming in general doesn't have much of an effect on the environment, one type of subsistence farming called, shifting cultivation, leaves a harmful impact on the land. In shifting cultivation, farmers use a technique called slash-and-burn which causes deforestation and depletes the soil of its nutrients.
The environment is affected in several ways by these two types of farming. Commercial farming utilizes many pesticides and fertilizers that aren't always organic. These pesticides and fertilizers can cause non point source pollution and degrade the soil. Traces of these chemicals can be found in the food we eat. However, not everything about commercial farming is bad. Commercial farming utilizes some of the newest techniques for farming such as crop rotation which returns nutrients to the soil. Although subsistence farming in general doesn't have much of an effect on the environment, one type of subsistence farming called, shifting cultivation, leaves a harmful impact on the land. In shifting cultivation, farmers use a technique called slash-and-burn which causes deforestation and depletes the soil of its nutrients.