Subsistence farming is characterised by small and scattered land holdings and use of primitive tools, like hoe and digging sticks by family members. As the farmers are poor, they do not use fertilizers and high yielding variety of seeds in their fields.
Facilities like irrigation and electricity are generally not available to them. These factors result in low productivity. Most of the food production is consumed by the farmers and their families.
Two features of subsistence farming are-
- Land holdings are small and scattered.
- The farmers use traditional methods of agriculture.