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"Subsistence Agriculture": Analytical Problems and Alternative Concepts

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  • Marvin P. Miracle

Abstract

This article argues that the concept of "subsistence agriculture"—widely encountered and long used in the literature—is not meaningful enough to be analytically useful as usually employed and should be abandoned. Particularly important for policy is the fact that use of the term "subsistence agriculture" leads to implicitly treating all small-scale agriculture as a homogeneous residual made up of producers who vary little in their potential contribution to economic development. Data are presented which strongly suggest that small-scale agriculture in less-developed countries is not homogeneous so far as decision-making situations are concerned. The second half of the article considers development of an alternative set of criteria for classifying small-scale farmers that would reflect meaningful differences in decision-making experience and decision-making situations. A tentative set of such criteria for which data are now available, or could be developed with relative ease, are presented to illustrate the relevance of such a classification for development planning and policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Marvin P. Miracle, 1968. ""Subsistence Agriculture": Analytical Problems and Alternative Concepts," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 50(2), pages 292-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:50:y:1968:i:2:p:292-310.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2307/1237543
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    Cited by:

    1. Budiman Achmad & Sanudin & Mohamad Siarudin & Ary Widiyanto & Dian Diniyati & Aris Sudomo & Aditya Hani & Eva Fauziyah & Endah Suhaendah & Tri Sulistyati Widyaningsih & Wuri Handayani & Dewi Maharani , 2022. "Traditional Subsistence Farming of Smallholder Agroforestry Systems in Indonesia: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-33, July.
    2. Ruelle, David, 1982. "Do turbulent crystals exist?," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 619-623.
    3. Shumovsky, A.S. & Yukalov, V.I., 1982. "Exact solutions for heterophase ferromagnets," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 518-534.
    4. Jolly, Curtis M. & Gadbois, Millie, 1996. "The effect of animal traction on labour productivity and food self-sufficiency: The case of mali," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 453-467, August.
    5. Dylan Fitz & Shyam Gouri Suresh, 2021. "Poverty traps across levels of aggregation," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 16(4), pages 909-953, October.
    6. Dalrymple, Dana G., 1968. "The Diversification of Agricultural Production in Less Developed Nations," Miscellaneous Publications 344091, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Ströh de Martínez, Christiane & Feddersen, Marietta & Speicher, Anna, 2016. "Food security in sub-Saharan Africa: a fresh look on agricultural mechanisation. How adapted financial solutions can make a difference," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 91, number 91, July.

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