The Shifting cultivation is a form of agricultural practice or a cultivation system in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored. As per UN report, more than 250 million populations in the world derive subsistence from the practice of shifting cultivation and ecological consequences are often harmful. It has diverse forms, remains a permeate practice of the tropical region.
List of local names of shifting cultivation around the world
Name of Shifting Cultivation | Region |
Ray | Vietnam |
Tavi | Madagascar |
Masole | Congo (Zaire river Valley) |
Fang | Equatorial African Countries |
Logan | Western Africa |
Comile | Mexico |
Milpa | Yucatan and Guatemala |
Echalin | Guadeloupe |
Milya | Mexico and Central America |
Konuko | Venezuela |
Roka | Brazil |
Chetemini | Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe |
Caingin | Philippines |
Taungya | Myanmar |
Chena | Sri Lanka |
Ladang | Java and Indonesia |
Tamrai | Thailand |
Humah | Java and Indonesia |
India | |
Jhum | North-eastern India |
Vevar and Dahiyaar | Bundelkhand Region (Madhya Pradesh) |
Deepa | Bastar District (Madhya Pradesh) |
Zara and Erka | Southern States |
Batra | South-eastern Rajasthan |
Podu | Andhra Pradesh |
Kumari | Hilly Region of the Western Ghats of Kerala |
Kaman, Vinga and Dhavi | Odisha |
Although, it is not very productive but also provides a bare living for the people who are too poor to afford fertilizer or farm machinery. Traditionally, this practice of agriculture also helps in minimising the soil erosion because most of the land is not cultivated at any given time. According to Conklin, shifting cultivation implies an aimless, unplanned nomadic movement or an abrupt change in location, either of which may refer to the cropping area, the agriculturists or both. It is traditional forms of agriculture which was practiced by early humans and its survival in the modern world suggests that it is a flexible and highly adaptive means of production. However, it is also a grossly misunderstood practice.
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