SHIFTING CULTIVATION IN BANGLADESH

Shifting Cultivation

Shifting cultivation, locally known as jhum is a traditional agricultural land use in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) of Bangladesh. This cultivation system practiced by tribal communities and accounts for the major proportion of agricultural land use in this area. About 60,000 families involved in shifting cultivation that covers an area of about 85,000 hectares of the hill forests. Clearing a patch of vegetation, growing varieties of crops in the cleared land for one or two seasons, and then moving to another plot is a major characteristic of this extensive land use system. There are twelve tribal communities and migrated Bengali practices largely wetland farming in available valley land. Traditional shifting cultivation, considered as ecologically and environmentally sustainable land use in mountain areas, is provided subsistence requirements for mountain people for long time. The long fallow period enables regeneration of soils and vegetation quickly and thus soil erosion remains minimal and hydrological balance is maintained. Moreover, cropping diversity under shifting cultivation conserves the land ecologically keeping pace of genetic diversity.

With the growing population, and state control over forest, fallow period has been shortened in most parts of Asia creating serious pressure on shifting cultivation systems, which destabilizes the system. However, shifting cultivation with short fallow accelerates deforestation, soil erosion, soil nutrient depletion and biodiversity degradation. It also adversely affects the physical and chemical properties of soil.