difference between commercial farming and subsistence farming
Answers
Commercial farming is done to earn large profits. It is knowledge based and capital intensive. It means you characterize the soil, water and environmental resources to ascertain best suited crops to natural resources. You also consider the market demand for particular crops, making your farming business demand oriented. You provide good management, optimum inputs, use best available machinery from sowing to harvesting, avail better storage and transportation facilities, and if possible add value to your farm products.
Subsistence farming is based on providing family needs (mainly bread and butter) and a little surplus to sell in local market to get some money to meet other family needs. Input use is almost always not optimum, knowledge of modern agro-technologies is poor. Product losses before and after harvesting are large.
Subsistence farmers are trapped in vicious cycle. To break this unfortunate cycle, poor farmers are in, Governments needs to conduct awareness program, knowledge sharing, provide soft loans, provision of inputs at farmers door steps, skill development programs and improved marketing facilities. If subsistence farmers are not uplifted, not only they would remain poor, social unrest leading to increased crimes and extremism but also they would be predated by corporate world, loosing their land to it. It is the duty of rich and knowledgeable to come forward and help break the cycle of poverty, miseries and ignorance.
i) Commercial farming is mainly practised in developed countries whereas subsistence farming in less developed or developing countries.
ii) Commercial farming is cultivated for profits whereas subsistence farming is for the consumption of the farmer and his/her family.
iii) Commercial farms are very large while that of the subsistence farming are quite small.
iv) Commercial farming is not dependent much on man power or animal power whereas subsistence farming is dependent.
v) In commercial farming, there are proper irrigation facilities whereas subsistence farming is generally dependent upon the monsoon.
Hope it helps you..