Is subsistence agriculture coming to an end?
Pure subsistence, where households consume all of their production without engaging in buying or selling grains, has in fact already disappeared. Farmers today are becoming increasingly integrated into markets and, even in Africa, about 60 to 100 percent of farmers either buy or sell grain. Despite this increasing participation in markets, the share of subsistence income is still relatively high for rural populations in all regions of the world, ranging from 23 percent in Bangladesh to 48 percent in Bolivia or 80 percent in Madagascar. This shows that subsistence agriculture still plays an important role in rural households’ income, although it is slowly declining. Many say that part of the problem is that the World Bank hasn’t been paying enough attention to agriculture. Why did that happen and is that changing? World Bank lending for agricultural activities declined dramatically from about 31 percent of total lending in 1990-1991 ($3 billion) to less than 10 percent in 2000-2001 ($87
