Intensive Subsistence Tillage (without Paddy Dominance)
This type is still intensive subsistence farming, just like the paddy-dominated version. That means:
- It involves small landholdings
- Family labour is intensively used
- It aims at maximising output from limited land
However, the key difference is this:
Here, paddy is not the main crop—because the environment doesn’t support it.
Why? Due to constraints of relief (landform), climate, and soil. Paddy needs:
- Levelled fields (for water stagnation),
- High rainfall or irrigation, and
- Clayey soils that hold water
But in uplands, dry regions, or temperate zones, these conditions are absent. So, other crops take center stage.
🌾 Where Is It Practised?
Let’s take a quick geographic view:
| Region | Major Crops |
|---|---|
| Northern China, North Korea, North Japan | Wheat, soybean, barley, sorghum |
| India (plains of North India) | Wheat |
| Western & Southern India (dry zones) | Millets (like jowar, bajra), pulses |
These are places where either the rainfall is insufficient, the land is not suitable for paddy, or the temperatures are lower.
🌦️ Role of Irrigation
Unlike in paddy-dominated areas where rainfall often plays a key role, this system:
Depends more on irrigation to support crops, especially in drier climates.
So, even though the crops differ, the intensity of cultivation remains the same—land is used to its full potential, often with multiple cropping cycles.
🧑🌾 Similarities with Paddy-Dominated System
Though the crop changes, the core characteristics remain largely the same:
- Small plots, often fragmented
- Family-based manual labour
- Low use of machinery
- Use of organic manure to maintain fertility
- High land productivity, but low labour productivity
The main aim, as before, is subsistence—to feed the family and local community
🧭 Conclusion:
Intensive Subsistence Tillage (without Paddy Dominance) is:
- A farming system adapted to non-paddy-friendly regions—uplands, drylands, and temperate zones
- Dominated by crops like wheat, barley, soyabean, and millets
- Still labour-intensive and land-efficient, just like its paddy-based counterpart
- Heavily reliant on irrigation, especially where rainfall is low
This system reflects how human beings adjust their agricultural practices to nature’s limits—optimising survival within their environmental realities.