Subsistence Farming: Subsistence farming is often carried out in areas with marginal soil fertility. The subsistence farmer grows what he needs to eat, but usually not enough to sell or even store for later use. The goal is to sustain the farmer and his family, not to maximize profits. Because of this, subsistence farming is often practiced side by side with other forms of work, such as animal husbandry or engaging in odd jobs so the farmer can generate some income.
Intensive Subsistence Agriculture: Intensive Subsistence Agriculture is a form of agriculture that relies heavily on human labor for raising crops. This method is very intense and the farmers using this method to farm usually have agricultural tools such as ploughs, spades, digging sticks and other similar tools. They grow crops that are mainly vegetables and grains. The main objective of Intensive Subsistence Farming is to ensure that there is food security in times of shortages.
Primitive Subsistence Agriculture: Primitive subsistence agriculture includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding. Both of these ways of producing food rely primarily on human labor for their output and thus are typically small-scale and labor-intensive practices, often (but not always) lacking in technologically complex equipment.
Shifiting Cultivation: Shifting cultivation is a type of agriculture, named so because the cultivators move to a new plot after every harvest. A typical shifting cultivation field consists of several parts: swiddens, forest edges and plots where diverse cultigens such as yam, sweet potato, banana and cordia (a tropical American rubber tree) are planted. Shifting cultivation is also known as ‘slash and burn’ agriculture that clears an agricultural field by partially burning the land adjacent to it; then crops that thrive in nutrient-rich soils and partial shade are planted and harvested after a year.
Nomadic Herding: Nomadic herding is still practiced in the Central Asia region. Nomads follow set routes to take advantage of pasture for their animals where there is water, while avoiding severe weather. The main difference between nomads and village herders is that nomads move on after they have exploited a pastoral area to the fullest, while village herders tend to stay longer in the same area.
Commercial Farming: Commercial farming involves a lot of work and is a large operation. Most of the farmers use tractors and other heavy equipment to manage their farms. They have to take the help from hired labour to grow crops and raise animals. The Farmers have to use pesticides, fertilizers and different types of machines for agriculture. They also have to face huge financial losses caused by crop failure, pests, droughts etc. Commercial farming can be done on a large scale or a small scale depending upon the farmer’s needs and availability of land or pasture.
Commercial Grain Farming: In commercial grain farming, crops like wheat and maize are grown for commercial purpose. This farming is practiced in temperate grasslands of Europe, North America and Asia. In this type of farming large number of livestock are grazed on the grasslands, which provides nutrients to fertilize the soil.
Mixed Farming: In mixed farming, the land is used for growing food and fodder crops and rearing livestock. This type of farming is practiced in areas that have a favourable climate, soil, rainfall and other basic facilities for agriculture. In mixed farming, all kinds of biomass are produced including food, fibres and fuels which makes it a sustainable strategy for agricultural production.
Plantation: Plantations are a type of commercial farming where single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana or cotton are grown. Though the word “Plantation” is used as a name as well as for describing the industry, it doesn’t mean that the plantation business began during 18th century.
