Shifting cultivation is a mode of farming long followed in the humid tropics of Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. In the practice of “slash and burn”, farmers would cut the native vegetation and burn it, then plant crops in the exposed, ash-fertilized soil for two or three seasons in succession.

The most severe deforestation by shifting cultivation can occur two ways. Firstly, the shifting cultivators who left their land fallow after cultivation then continue clearing forests for further cultivation. Secondly, forest fires are caused by uncontrolled burning during land clearance for shifting cultivation.

The earlier 15-20 year cycle of shifting cultivation on a particular land has reduced to 2-3 years now. This has resulted in large-scale deforestation, soil and nutrient loss, and invasion by weeds and other species. The indigenous biodiversity has been affected to a large extent.

Shifting cultivation has been attributed to causing large-scale deforestation and forest degradation in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers. This view has been embedded in many policy documents in the tropics, although, there are conflicting views within the literature as to the impacts of shifting cultivation.

Agriculture contributes to a number larger of environmental issues that cause environmental degradation including: climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, dead zones, genetic engineering, irrigation problems, pollutants, soil degradation, and waste.

Shifting Cultivation has different names like dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, Jhum and Podu in India.

Jhum cultivation, also known as the slash and burn agriculture, is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and burning them thereafter.

slash and burn agriculture

Jhum or Jhoom cultivation is a local name for slash and burn agriculture practiced by the tribal groups in the northeastern states of India like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and also in the districts of Bangladesh like Khagrachari and Sylhet.

By: Sanjoy Choudhury. Shifting cultivation or jhum, predominantly practiced in the north-east of India is an agricultural system where a farming community slashes secondary forests on a predetermined location, burns the slash and cultivates the land for a limited number of years.

Shifting cultivation is a traditional practice of agriculture prevalent in various parts of Asia, Africa and South-America. It is known as lading in south-east Asia, milpa in Central America, Chitemene or tavy in Africa and Chena in Sri Lanka.

Swidden agriculture

Complete Answer: Shifting cultivation refers to the form of agricultural practice in which a particular land is cleared of its vegetation and is cultivated for a few years and then it is left out for the land to restore its fertility naturally, thus looking for new land to cultivate upon.

It uses a lot of land from the forest. It also needs to burn the trees present in the forest so that they get fertile land. it needs to leave the forest land fallow for many tears. It also makes a risk of occurrence of forest fire.

Advantages: This method helps to eliminate weeds, insects and other germs effecting the soil. Shifting cultivation allows for farming in areas with dense vegetation, low soil nutrients content, uncontrollable pests. Disadvantages: In shifting cultivation, trees in the forests are cut.