Process Of Shifting Cultivation
Shifting cultivators follow a process for practising shifting cultivation that is mentioned below:
- Farmers must first choose a location near their villages or other towns where they intend to cultivate.
- The vegetation that typically covers the land must be removed before it can cultivate.
- Most of the tall trees, which often assist in bringing down the smaller trees, were cut down by farmers using axes and cutting tools.
- The leftover material is then burned by the farmers in a controlled environment.
- Every time it rains, the rain arrives and carries the nutrients into the soil by washing the fresh ashes into the ground.
- The cleared space is referred to as a swidden.
- For only three years or fewer, the cleared ground can grow crops.
- After three years, the soil is no longer suitable for producing crops due to the faster loss of nutrients in the soil.
- Farmers and residents of the community search for a new location to start clearing land when the swidden is no longer beneficial.
- It may take up to twenty years for them to allow the former site to return to its pre-cropping state by leaving it unattended for a long period.
What is Shifting Cultivation? What are its Disadvantages?
Around the world, shifting cultivation has become a more popular farming technique, particularly in tropical regions. Because it involves growing crops on the ground that has been cleared of vegetation and given some time to rest before being utilized again, it is successful in many locations.
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