For Malthus, famine was inevitable because the math of human existence did not add up: the means of subsistence grew only arithmetically (1, 2, 3), whereas population grew geometrically (2, 4, 8).
But the craving for an individually owned subsistence farm grew stronger as the first generations of religious settlers who had "planted" by congregation died off.
On the plateau itself, the Miao practice subsistence agriculture, growing upland crops.
Italian agriculture was organized for subsistence first; growing crops exclusively for sale was rare in the early Middle Ages.
Tiree, 50 miles (80 km) west of Oban, the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides, has an economy based on crofting (small-scale tenant farming, largely for subsistence), bulb growing, cattle raising, fishing, tourism, and the quarrying of marble.
Most villagers are subsistence farmers growing maize and rice.
Nigerien families practice subsistence farming, growing enough food to sustain themselves until the next harvest, creating a situation of structural malnutrition.
Lindi Region is predominantly rural and the majority of the population lives below the poverty line (less than a dollar per day) and depend on subsistence agriculture, growing cashew nuts as a cash crop and maize, rice and beans as main staple foods.
Pearl millet is one of the most important subsistence crops grown in India and sub-Saharan Africa.
Growing subsistence crops may fill stomachs, but it provides no money for building houses or educating a family.
