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Question
Answer the following question.
What is shifting cultivation? What are its disadvantages?
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Solution
Shifting cultivation or slash-and-burn cultivation is a type of farming activity which involves clearing a plot of land by felling trees, burning the felled trees, mixing the ashes with soil, and then growing crops like maize, yam, potatoes and cassava on the cleared land. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves on to a new plot. This type of farming has the following disadvantages.
(a) Leads to deforestation
(b) Soil becomes susceptible to erosion due to deforestation
(c) Soil loses its fertility due to the erosion of the top soil
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| Jhumming: The 'slash and burn' agriculture is known as, 'Milpa' in Mexico and Central America, 'Conuco' in Venezuela, 'Roca' in Brazil, 'Masole' in Central Africa, 'Ladang' in Indonesia, 'Ray' in Vietnam. In India, this primitive form of cultivation is called 'Bewar' or 'Dahiya' in Madhya Pradesh, 'Podu' or 'Penda' in Andhra Pradesh, 'Pama Dabi' or 'Koman' or 'Bringa' in Odisha, 'Kumari' in Western Ghats, 'Valre' or 'Waltre' in South-eastern Rajasthan, 'Khil' in the Himalayan belt, 'Kuruwa' in Jharkhand, and 'Jhumming' in the North-eastern region. |
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| Commercial Farming: The main characteristic of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs, e.g. high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity. The degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from one region to another. For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Odisha, it is a subsistence crop. |
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