Tenant Farming
Definition
Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying amounts of capital and management.
Analogy
Think of tenant farming like renting an apartment. You live there and take care of the place, but you don't own it. Instead, you pay rent to the landlord. In this case, instead of paying money for living space, tenant farmers pay with a portion of the crops they grow.
Related terms
Sharecropping: A system where a farmer tends some portion of a planter's land in return for a share of the crops.
Agricultural Revolution: The transformation of agriculture that resulted in increased productivity due to mechanization and new methods.
Feudalism: A social system that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages where peasants worked on lands owned by lords in exchange for protection; it's similar to tenant farming but within different historical contexts.
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