Notes

The Ibo culture is extremely agriculture-based, since they don't have easy access to much new technology. The book takes place during colonization, so much of the world was still agricultural anyways. Mainly England and the United States were industrialized. Lower Niger is where this particular village is located (as revealed at the end of the book) and that isn't a place in the world that was industrializing. While farming was more simple (it was not sold or exported) it was also very complex to them.
There are crops in the culture that are considered to be "male crops" and "female crops". Male crops are those that are more tenuous to grow and support, like yams. Men are usually the farmers in the community, while the females generally stay in the domestic realm. But there are some crops that women plant as well, like maize, melons and beans (Achebe, Chapter Four). But in general, farming was an activity that males participated in.