Question

Assertion (A): Shifting cultivation is harmful.

Reason (R): It causes deforestation.

Options

• Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

• Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

• (A) is true but (R) is false.

• (A) is false but (R) is true.

Answer 1

Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Explanation:

Shifting cultivation is considered environmentally destructive because its basic practice involves cutting down and burning whole sections of forest to make way for land for farming. After a few seasons, these plots lose fertility, and farmers move on to a new forested region. This repeated cycle causes widespread deforestation, resulting in habitat destruction, soil erosion, and significant environmental deterioration. Because the practice directly causes forest damage, the reason precisely explains why the assertion is true.