Difference between subsistence agriculture and plantation agriculture

Subsistence agriculture Plantation agriculture
1 Farm sizes are small only as much as the family can cultivate Farm sizes are large about 400 hectares fro rubber plantation
2 Owned by an individual or family Owned by the state or company in most cases
3 Output is small and almost to feed the family Output is large and for sale often in foreign markets
4 Farmer use simple tools e.g holes cutlasses and axes Machines are used in most farming operations e.g tractors
5 Labour is provided mainly by the farmer and his family Labour is employed and wages paid
6 Mixed cropping is practised. A farmer may have crops such as cassava plantations, and maize Monoculture is practised only one crop is cultivated e.g banana
7 It requires very little capital Large capital is required to buy machinery and pay workers etc
8 Farmers depend on nature for soil fertility Fertilizers are used to improve on soil quality

Pastoral normadism

Definition: This is a type of cattle rearing where the herder makes with his cattle from place to place in search of pasture. It is practised mainly in the tropical grassland regions where natural grass is available. The popular groups involved in pastoral normadism in Africa include the Masai in East Africa especially
In Kenya and the Fulani in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Case study N°: Pastoral normadism in Northern Cameroon

Pastoral Normadism is one of the most important economic in Northern Cameroon. It is pratised mainly in the Chad lowlands and the Adamawa highlands.

Characteristics of the farming

1) The activity is carried out mainly by the Fulani (bororos) who either have fixed grazing land.
2) The rearers generally have low standards of living and are contented to li as their forefathers have done in generations
3) The rearers consider their live stock as wealth and their social position and prestige depends upon the size