Question

Read the story of Rinjha and answer the question that follows:

Story of Rinjha Rinjha lived with her family in a small village at the outskirts of Diphu in Assam. She enjoys watching her family members clearing, slashing and burning a patch of land for cultivation. She often helps them in irrigating the fields with water running through a bamboo canal from the nearby spring. She loves the surroundings and wants to stay here as long as she can, but this little girl has no idea about the declining fertility of the soil and her family’s search for a fresh patch of land in the next season.

Suggest any three measures to Rinjha so that the fertility of the soil of her fields remains intact for a long time.

Answer 1

1. Crop Rotation: Instead of growing the same nutrient-demanding crops continuously, her family can rotate different plant species each season. Alternating food crops with legumes (like beans or peas) naturally replenishes nitrogen levels in the soil.
2. Use of Organic Fertilizers: Instead of relying solely on natural ash from burning trees, they can introduce organic matter like manure, compost, and bio-fertilizers. This adds vital nutrients back to the land sustainably without degrading the ecosystem.
3. Mixed Cropping or Intercropping: Planting two or more crops simultaneously on the same patch of land (such as growing maize along with legumes) helps optimise soil nutrient usage, protects the soil cover, and reduces erosion.