The study assessed the effect of intensive subsistence agriculture on the sustainable livelihood of smallholder farmers in South Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, guided by the agricultural intensification theory.

The objectives of the study included: examining the effects of subsistence agriculture on smallholder farmers’ socioeconomic statuses; analyzing the effects of smallholder farmers’ socioeconomic statuses on sustainable livelihood; and establishing the relationship between the intensive subsistence agriculture practiced and the socio-economic statuses of smallholder farmers in terms of sustainable livelihood.