Subsistence farming may be defined as the method of farming by which production of crops is mainly to feed the farmer and his/her immediate family. The primary aim is not to sell the produce for income. However, sometimes, some of the little surplus is sold to take care of some basic financial needs of the family.
ADVANTAGES
It is cheaper
One of the advantages of subsistence farming is that it is cost effective. The reason is that it does not require the huge investments as would otherwise have been needed by a commercial farmer. The implements that are used are easy to acquire and mostly not expensive.
No hiring of labour
Another advantage of subsistence method of farming is that it does not require the hiring of labour. The main source of labour is the children and the immediate family members of the farmer. The effect is that money is not expended on labour. This being so, the money for hiring labour is diverted to take care of other pressing matters of the family.
A ready source of employment
To become subsistence a farmer does not require any specialized skills or any high level of education. All that is needed is the ability to handle the hoe and cutlass and to plant according the traditional timing of the locality. For these reasons, it is easy for folks to enter into subsistence farming.
Source of food supply to the family
One of the main advantages of subsistence farming is that it provides ready food for the family. In most rural families for example, the main source food is the individual farms of the folks. There, the basic staples are available for use which includes such basic supplies as maize, cassava, plantain, coco yam etc.
A checks rural-urban movement
There are people who have lived in the villages and have depended on subsistence farming for ages. Such people do not see why they must move to the cities and live in deplorable conditions since they cannot afford adequate accommodation. They prefer to stay back in the villages and make do with the little they can get from the land. Such a decision helps them to remain in the villages thereby checking rural-urban drift.
Saves foreign exchange
The farming implements that are needed for subsistence farming can be acquired on the local market since they are locally produced. There are local blacksmiths who can manufacture such simple implements. There is therefore no need for government to use scarce foreign resources to import them. Such monies are therefore expended on more pressing national needs.
