noun
subsistence farming; small-scale farming
Refers to farming on a very small scale, often just enough to support the farmer's own family, with little surplus for sale. The term can also imply poverty or marginal livelihood.
この地域では零細農が多く、現金収入はほとんどない。
In this region, subsistence farming is common, and there is almost no cash income.
零細農から脱却するために、新しい作物の導入を検討している。
To move away from subsistence farming, they are considering introducing new crops.
小規模農業 is a broader term for small-scale farming, which may still be commercially oriented, whereas 零細農 emphasizes marginal, subsistence-level farming.
Compound of 零細 (れいさい, 'insignificant, petty, very small') and 農 (のう, 'farming, agriculture'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is used in modern Japanese to describe marginal subsistence farming.