Legal Definitions - sharecropping

Sharecropping

Sharecropping is an agricultural arrangement where a landowner allows a tenant to use their land for farming. In return, the tenant pays rent by giving the landowner a predetermined portion of the crops harvested from that land. Typically, the landowner also provides essential resources such as seeds, fertilizer, equipment, or even housing, to support the tenant's farming efforts.

Here are some examples illustrating sharecropping:

• Imagine a family in the American South shortly after the Civil War. They are newly freed but own no land, tools, or seeds to start farming. A former plantation owner, needing labor to cultivate his extensive property, offers them a plot of land. The agreement is that the family will farm the land, and in exchange, they will give 50% of their cotton harvest to the landowner. The landowner also provides the mule, plow, and initial seeds.

  This is sharecropping because the family (tenant) is leasing land from the landowner and paying their rent with a portion of the crop (cotton). The landowner also provides the necessary farming equipment and supplies.

• Consider a young, aspiring organic farmer who lacks the capital to purchase land or expensive specialized equipment for growing heirloom tomatoes. An elderly landowner with several acres of unused fertile land agrees to let the young farmer cultivate a portion of it. Their arrangement stipulates that the farmer will grow and harvest the tomatoes, and in return, 25% of the total tomato yield will go to the landowner. The landowner also allows the farmer to use his existing irrigation system and provides the initial heirloom tomato seedlings.

  This scenario demonstrates sharecropping as the farmer (tenant) is using the landowner's property, and their payment for this use is a percentage of the harvested crop (tomatoes). The landowner's contribution of irrigation and seedlings further aligns with the typical sharecropping model.

• In a rural village in a developing country, a family has a small plot of land but struggles to afford high-quality rice seeds and fertilizer to improve their yield. A wealthier village elder, who owns multiple plots and has access to better resources, offers them an additional, larger plot of his land. The agreement is that the family will cultivate this larger plot, and at harvest time, they will give one-third of the rice yield from that specific plot to the elder. The elder also provides the improved rice seeds and allows the family to use his water buffalo for plowing.

  This is an example of sharecropping because the family (tenant) is farming land owned by the elder, and their rent is paid directly through a share of the harvested rice. The elder's provision of seeds and a water buffalo illustrates the common practice of the landowner supplying resources.