Agrarian system

Agriculture
General
Agribusiness Agricultural science Agronomy Animal husbandry Extensive farming Factory farming Farm Free range Industrial agriculture Mechanised agriculture Intensive farming Organic farming Permaculture Stock-free agriculture Sustainable agriculture Urban agriculture
History
History of agriculture Arab Agricultural Revolution British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Neolithic Revolution History of organic farming
Types
Aquaculture Dairy farming Aquaponics Grazing Hydroponics Livestock Pig farming Orchard Poultry farming Sheep husbandry
Categories
Agriculture Agriculture by country Agriculture companies Biotechnology Livestock Meat industry Poultry farming
Agropedia portal

An agrarian system is a concept used to describe the dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices. It is premised on the idea that different systems have developed depending on the natural and social conditions specific to a particular region. Political factors also have a bearing on an agrarian system due to issues such as land ownership, labour organization, and forms of cultivation.

As food security has become more important, mostly due to the explosive population growth during the 20th century, the efficiency of agrarian systems has come under greater review.

Types

Main article: Agrarian society

The basis for a prevailing agrarian system may be derived from one of a number of major types, including agrarian social structure, for example, tribal or ethnic divisions, feudal classes or family based systems. Farming methods such as migratory herding of livestock are a common framework for which an agrarian system may evolve. Other important kinds of system are based on the dominant political ideology such as communism or agrarian socialism.

See also: Collective farming and Community-supported agriculture

Regional examples

The Ottoman agrarian system was based around the tapu, which involved a permanent lease of state-owned arable land to a peasant family. In Haiti there was a social system based on collective labor teams, called kounbit, where farms were run by nuclear families and exchanges. This was replaced by smaller groups, called eskouad, who operated on a reciprocal basis or conducted collective labor to other peasants for a price.

See also

• List of basic agriculture topics
• Right to food
• Social cycle theory
• Sustainable agriculture