Shifting Agriculture

 What is Shifting agriculture?

Shifting Agriculture also known as 'Slash-and-Burn' method is a very common practice of cultivation prevalence in countries such as India. In this method, farmers make a small clearing in the forest where the cultivation of crops is done solely dependent on monsoon rain for irrigation and natural fertility of soil. No artificial input of either irrigation or fertilizer is given by the farmer. This method is very harmful to the environment.

Shifting agriculture 

Key features of Shifting agriculture: 

Following are the key features of shifting agriculture:

• It is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools.
• It is also called jhumming, agriculture where the farmers make a small clearing in the forest, cultivate it for some years and then abandon it when the fertility of the soil diminishes. They then shift to another fresh clearing in the forest.
• This is also called slash-and-burn agriculture. The patch of land is usually cleared by slashing the vegetation. The slashed plants are there in burnt to produce ash that enhances the fertility of the soil.
• This type of farming depends upon the monsoon and the natural fertility of the soil. No inputs are provided for a better produce.
• this type of agriculture is unproductive in long run because it reduces the fertility of the soil after a few years. It is thus, wasteful and harmful to the environment. However it is still commonly practice in the tribal areas of the north eastern hill States like Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
• Crops like cassava, manioc, yarns, tapioca, millets, upland rice and bananas that are easy to cultivate are grown.
• Furthermore deforestation and burning induced increase in the level of greenhouse gases in atmosphere contribute to environmental degradation.