smallholders
Modest plot cultivators
Smallholders are farmers who work small plots of land, typically for subsistence or modest commercial production.
The term appears most often in discussions of agriculture in developing countries, where smallholders form the backbone of food production: Smallholders grow most of the world's cocoa.
The size threshold varies by region—what counts as small in Kansas differs from what counts as small in Bangladesh.
Fostering growth through care
- tillageSoil preparation for planting
- croppingCutting to resize
- ploughingTurning earth for cultivation
- husbandryFarm management practice
arable · fallow · sowing · harvesting · intercropping · diversified · polyculture · kitchen-garden
Low-ranking agricultural workers
- tenancyRenter's period of residence
- sharecroppingFarm rent in produce
- landholdingOwned piece of terrain
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
yeomanry · serfs · tithes · allotments · croft · freeholders · copyholders · cottagers
Storyline or land parcel
- cottageSmall rural home
- farmsteadFarm with residence
- dwellingPlace of residence
- ancestralOf one's forebears
family · heritage · croft · bungalow · outbuildings · barn · shed · well
From living matter
- permacultureSustainable ecosystem design method
- agroecologyEcological approach to farming
- regenerativeAble to renew itself
- compostingDecomposing organic matter deliberately
biodiversity · conservation · pollinators · low-impact · biodynamic · climate-resilient · cooperative
Made manually, not machined
- value-addedIncreased worth through enhancement
- cheesemakingProducing curds for aging
- brewingBeverage preparation process
- preservingProtecting from deterioration
cultivation
Fostering growth through care
husbandry · arable · fallow · sowing · harvesting · intercropping · diversified · polyculture · kitchen-garden · market-garden
peasants
Low-ranking agricultural workers
- tenancyRenter's period of residence
- sharecroppingFarm rent in produce
- landholdingOwned piece of terrain
subsistence · yeomanry · serfs · tithes · allotments · croft · freeholders · copyholders · cottagers · villeins
plot
Storyline or land parcel
ancestral · family · heritage · croft · bungalow · outbuildings · barn · shed · well · compound
organic
From living matter
- permacultureSustainable ecosystem design method
- agroecologyEcological approach to farming
- regenerativeAble to renew itself
composting · biodiversity · conservation · pollinators · low-impact · biodynamic · climate-resilient · cooperative
handcrafted
Made manually, not machined
- value-addedIncreased worth through enhancement
- cheesemakingProducing curds for aging
- brewingBeverage preparation process
poultry
Birds raised for food
sheep · dairying · grazing · fodder · pasture · free-range · rabbits · ducks · geese · milking
- rural peoplefarmer, villagers, farmhand, farmworker, farmers
- African farmingmaize, cassava, sorghum, millet, yams
- landownerslandlords, farmer, rancher, freeholders, homesteader
- palm oilpalm oil, oil palm, palm fruit, palm kernel, oil palms
- rural folkpeasantry, countryfolk, farmers, farmhands, farm workers
- smallholder farmingsubsistence farming, family farms, hand tools, hoes, manual labor
smallholdersplantation owners
Large-scale agricultural landholders
ranchers · agribusiness · factory farms · corporate farms · cattle barons
smallholderslandless peasants
Farmers without owned fields
corporate farms · tenant farmers · sharecroppers · agricultural workers · absentee landlords