1. population differences (e.g., density, land scarcity)
2. technology differences (e.g., plow)
3. cultural differences (e.g., polygamy)
4. economic differences (e.g., commercialization)

Agricultural systems

• Shifting cultivation (e.g., land-extensive, many places in Africa)
• Intensive cropping (labor-intensive, Asia)

Physical tasks involved in farming:

• preparation–tasks: clearing, tree felling, burning, tilling; technology: usually iron axe;
• cultivation–tasks: planting, weeding, fertilizing, pest control; technology: digging sticks, hoes, draft animals;
• harvest–tasks: harvesting (grain, corn, cotton, peanuts, tubers, etc.–the task varies by crop), threshing, gathering, hauling; technology: low-energy, manual
• processing–tasks: de-hulling (pounding), winnowing, shelling, grinding, cooking (fuelwood, water fetching, smokey kitchens, etc.); technology: mortar and pestle for pounding grain, simple fire under iron pot to cook, mostly manual technologies

Population density, labor supply–differences in different parts of the world? Differences in property rights (e.g., more vs less private)?

Polygyny (vs polyandry)

• Pros and cons
• different farming systems?
• brideweath and dowry
• ‘productive’ versus ‘reproductive’ roles for women
• gender imbalance?

Land tenure, property rights

• Different regimes
  • Private
  • Public
  • Common property
  • Open access
• Land tenureas ‘bundle’ of rights, including:
  • to use resources (‘land tenure’ is more broad than ‘resource tenure’)
  • to manage resources
  • to evict other users (tenure security)–‘rights’ versus ‘privileges’
  • to rent, lease, etc.
  • to dispose (e.g., harvest, inherit)
  • to ‘alienate’ (e.g., to sell)
  • to adjudicate (who settles disputes?)
• Key issues
• Inheritance–patrilineal/matrilineal
• Residence–patri/matrilocal
• Authority/decision making–patriarchy, matriarchy

Do women relate to the environment in different ways than men?

• They produce (farm, cultivate)
• They use (other natural resources)
• They reproduce (the next generation–think use of resources, population issues, fertility rates)
• They consume (consumption alters the environment. Women usually keep more wealth in household than men do)

Issues

• biodiversity
• local knowledge
• stewardship
• sustainability (two strategies–maximizing income vs minimizing risk)
• technology
• tenure/property rights
  • ‘individualization’ or ‘privatization’ (what’s driving it?)
  • Movements (Chipko, Greenbelt)
  • Control (markets, governments, locals and custom)