| Primitive Subsistence farming | Intensive Subsistence farming |
| 1. It is practised on small patches of land. | 1. It is practised on bigger land holdings. |
| 2. Primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks, and family or community labour are used. | 2. Modern inputs like HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides, etc., to obtain higher productivity are used. |
| 3. In this type of farming, farmers depend on the monsoons and natural fertility of the soil. | 3. In intensive subsistence, irrigation facilities like tube wells and canal irrigation is used. |
| 4. Land productivity in this type of agriculture is low. | 4. Land productivity is high as it is meant for commercial purposes. |
