SUBSISTENCE LOGISTICS

Logistics International Associates - LIA developed this concept, however approximately 10,000 years ago, the first cultures appeared; wheat and barley. However, little is known about the subject, but three regions were famous for being the birthplace of agriculture; Mesopotamia, America (pre-Columbian civilization) and Asia (Russia and China).                 Climate and technology have always influenced agriculture. Subsistence agriculture, characterized by the survival and sale of surpluses, allowed the emergence of human settlements. Some crops were deliberately planted and other foods were obtained from nature.                 Logistics, at that time, presented static characteristics, transport, distribution and storage not being important, only production and immediate consumption on site.                 Over the years, with the concern to maintain stocks for future consumption, storage has increased in importance. Little by little, methods and techniques developed based on possibilities offered by nature.                 The interest in new cultures led humanity to move and seek new markets, adding yet another new phase of logistics: transport and distribution.                 Technology often distances the simple man from the field to achieve his dream of production. Advanced technical processes designed to save labor through production systems that use inputs, expensive and complex machines, keep out those with few possibilities. One of the objectives of subsistence logistics is to more efficiently produce the same quantity of product, using less inputs in order to decrease its unit cost and thus increase the profitability of the rural producer. For this reason, the use of alternative energy sources such as those from the sun, wind and water are objectives of subsistence logistics. They are certainly factors that are free of production and that also favor the country's economic policies by reducing consumption from conventional sources. The conservation of fruits, meat, grains through solar drying, for example, still contributes to reduce the loss of the product in the field. Therefore, knowing how to take advantage of these natural energy flows is undoubtedly optimizing local resources, minimizing costs and improving production results.                    Subsistence Logistics has always been present in the lives of a large part of the planet's population. The relationship between man and nature has always resulted in simple and practical solutions that have alleviated or met the needs of human survival. Nowadays, the rural family has been excluded from the economic and social process. It lacks not only the benefits generated by science, but mainly the knowledge of sustainable survival. This has resulted in rural exodus, resulting in disorderly growth and urban quality of life. Rescuing some techniques and perfecting them is the objective of Subsistence Logistics, which aims to apply Social Technology, in order to keep rural people with maximum dignity, offering citizenship and fulfilling dreams of growing up within a organized society. Above all, it seeks to guide the training of human resources in the application of good practices and is geared towards activities in three areas: material, plant and animal.                    Or LIA Manual is based on research by the authors and on practical experiences successfully carried out at the Subsistence Logistics Field-School (CELOGS) of the Brazilian Army and the University of Brasília (UCB).