Shifting Cultivation - Process, Advantages and Disadvantages

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By JasvirUpdated On: 26-Oct-2023 02:18 PM

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ByJasvir |Updated On: 26-Oct-2023 02:18 PM

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Shifting cultivation also known as Jhum is performed mainly in the forests of hilly regions in India. Shifting cultivation in India dates back to prehistoric times when it was a widespread practice among several forest tribal communities in northeastern regions such as Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Learn more about the shifting cultivation process, its advantages and disadvantages in this article.

Shifting cultivation is mostly used by tribal people and farmers living in hilly regions. Most of the tribal people don’t own any fertile land in India to grow their food on. This leaves them with the only option of shifting cultivation. Many people in India solely rely on this technique for their survival. More on that topic is discussed in this article but first, let’s talk about what shifting cultivation even is.

What is Shifting Cultivation

Shifting Cultivation is a farming technique practised in forest areas in India. It is also called Jhum Cultivation in India and it is the process of cutting the trees and vegetation in forest areas to cultivate the plot. This is why it is also called “Slash-and-Burn Cultivation”.

After cultivating the land for a few years or until the soil is exhausted of nutrients, the land is abandoned so that it may regain its fertility naturally. The fallow period is usually in years and during this time, the soil recovers its fertility. The new land supports biodiversity as new plants and animals make it their habitat.

Shifting Cultivation Process

The process of shifting cultivation can be divided into four general stages. These stages are explained in detail below.

1. Clearing Land

The first thing a farmer or tribal person would do during shifting cultivation is select the land. When the land is selected, the clearing process begins and the clearing land process involves cutting down the trees surrounding this ground. The vegetation or weeds of the forest are burned to clear the land further. The ash from burning the vegetation helps fertilise the land. That is how the land is cleared for farming.

2. Planting

The second step in this agricultural practice is planting the crops. The main crops planted in agricultural practice are corn (Maize), rice, sweet potatoes and yams. The soil in forests is less fertile than farmland which is why low-fertility compatible crops mentioned above are planted.

3. Cultivating

This process goes on for a few years until the soil is exhausted or when the land is overrun by weeds. This is the most important part of the process because the farmers need to protect the crops from pests and weeds. Not only that, if the farmer doesn't know about the practice they may completely exhaust the soil of nutrients and render the land infertile forever.

4. Fallow Period

The fallow period is the time taken by the land to fully recover itself. If this agricultural practice is rightly performed the soil will be fertile again in a few years but negligence can negatively affect the future chances of farming and biodiversity.

This was the whole process divided into four steps.

Shifting Cultivation Advantages

Now after learning the process, you may wonder if this agricultural technique even has any advantages. For a farming technique mainly consisting of cutting trees and burning the vegetation, shifting cultivation doesn't sound to have any benefits, but it does have some advantages. These advantages are explained in detail below.

1. Easy Farming

Compared to traditional farming, shifting cultivation is much easier to do. Normally a farmer would need to first prepare the land. Then spend a large amount of time and resources to make the land fertile. Then only the farmer will get high crop yields and make money. Not to mention the modern machinery reliance for mid to large-scale farming. But in the case of this practice, the farming process is simpler and easier than that.

2. High Crop Yield

In this practice, the crops planted are compatible with less fertile land as mentioned above. The soil after burning the vegetation becomes nutrition-rich and for the first few years farmers can expect high crop yields.

3. More BIodiverse

Shifting cultivation can promote better biodiversity only if performed right. This will happen when the land is allowed the proper time to heal which in turn provides habitat for animals and plants, helping the biodiversity.

4. Organic Farming and Pest Control

Shifting cultivation requires burning the vegetation which causes the death of pests and insects. This helps as crops become easier to manage and no need for pesticides is required. Which in turn leads to organic and healthy produce rich in natural nutrition.

These are all the advantages shifting cultivation provides. As explained below, this practice also has many disadvantages.

Shifting Cultivation Disadvantages

The disadvantages of shifting cultivation are explained below.

1. Deforestation

The biggest disadvantage of shifting cultivation is deforestation. The process of this agricultural practice requires cutting trees for clear farming land. The cultivation only lasts for a few years which means farmers will move onto new ground and cut trees again. This leads to deforestation which in turn leads to soil erosion and global warming.

2. Loss of biodiversity

This agricultural practice requires burning the forests for the soil to be more fertile. This burning process destroys the natural habitat of the forest and causes biodiversity degradation.

3. Air Pollution and emission

The burning vegetation contributes to more air pollution which impacts the environment and people negatively. It also leads to the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming.

Conclusion

In the end, we can say that the shifting cultivation offers many benefits in the areas where farming land is insufficient and normal farming is not viable. Shifting Cultivation makes the best of the surroundings and the ground and supplies the farmers with an efficient alternative for farming. In the past shifting cultivation had many advantages for farmers and indigenous peoples without access to farmland, but nowadays it is becoming impractical and harmful.

Shifting Cultivation can also be harmful to the environment as it requires cutting trees which leads to deforestation. The burning contributes to the destruction of natural habitats. It is important that we consider sustainable alternatives that can provide food security to farmers and tribal people currently relying on shifting cultivation.