However, with the depleting fish stocks, there has been a shift to peasant farming in the past few years, to meet people's basic economic needs.
But even the most basic peasant farming that sustained rural families and fed the towns is in disarray.
This view of peasant farming implies that it will not develop into capitalism without some external, added factor.
Gradually there emerged a non-religious agricultural infrastructure based on peasant farming organized into manors, which were in turn organized for law and order by feudalism.
As Jack Savage said, people walking miles with little bundles of corn on their heads is picturesque, but actually peasant farming is a way of life involving constant toil, particularly for women.
Over 80% of the population are directly engaged in the peasant farming of virtually all major food crops, with concentration on rice, sweet potatoes, cassava, sorghum, citrus, spices, pepper, groundnut and bambara nuts.
Das believes India needs to shift focus from peasant farming to agribusiness and encourage private capital to move from urban to rural areas.
The main economic activities in Madi Okollo county are fishing in the Nile and peasant farming of sesame and cotton.
This world lapsed into a virtually pre-industrial state of peasant farming and handicrafts.
But the obstacles to the free development of capitalism and of successful peasant farming remained.