Subsistence economy

An economic system in which production is directed mainly toward meeting basic needs rather than generating surplus. Households or communities consume much of what they produce.

Subsistence agriculture: Farming that produces primarily for the farmer’s household or local community rather than for sale. It is a common way subsistence economies produce food.
Subsistence: The means by which people obtain the necessities required to live. A subsistence economy organizes production around this broader objective.
Shifting cultivation: A farming system in which fields are cultivated temporarily and then left fallow as cultivation moves elsewhere. It can support subsistence where soils lose fertility after repeated cultivation.
Subsistence crisis: A severe disruption that threatens a population’s access to the means of basic survival. Dependence on local production can make a failed harvest an immediate crisis.
Hunter-gatherer: A person or society that obtains food by hunting animals, fishing, and gathering wild plants. Foraging can meet basic needs without settled farming or large surpluses.
Economic system: The institutions and practices through which a society produces, distributes, and consumes goods and services. Subsistence economy is one way a society organizes these activities.
Slash-and-burn agriculture: A farming method that clears vegetation by cutting and burning it before planting crops. It is one technique used in some shifting subsistence systems.
Peasant: A small-scale farmer whose livelihood depends substantially on agricultural labor and access to land. Peasant households have often combined subsistence production with limited market activity.
Pastoralism: A livelihood based chiefly on raising and managing domesticated livestock. Livestock provide food and materials where crop production is limited.
Self-sufficiency: The capacity to meet needs with resources produced or obtained independently. Subsistence households often seek self-sufficiency, though they may still exchange goods.

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