Shifting cultivation Inputs of shifting cultivation Physical factors

Shifting cultivation

Inputs of shifting cultivation • Physical factors like rainfall, soil and climatic conditions • Low human inputs

Process of shifting cultivation 1. Chose a piece of forest land clearing the undergrowth 2. Felling and burning the trees 3. Cultivating the crops 4. Soil diminish in fertility and the land is left to fallow 5. The cycle repeats

Outputs of shifting cultivation • Variety of crops like rice, sugar cane, maize, banana and pumpkin • Crops are only enough to sustain the farmer’s family • Surplus is sold • Best seeds are kept for the next planting season

Characteristics of shifting cultivation • Subsistent form of farming • Polyculture • Small piece of land – smaller than 2 hectares • Time left for the soil to fallow is decreasing due to pressure on the land

Advantages of shifting cultivation • More ecologically friendly as no pesticides or chemical fertilizers is used • Low human/capital inputs • Loss of biodiversity due to deforestation is on a small scale – flora and fauna will return once the soil is left to fallow

Disadvantages of shifting cultivation • Large amounts of smoke and haze caused by burning • Soil erosion – when the soil is left to fallow, the soil is exposed to the weather elements and it will be eroded • Infertile soil – pressure is put onto the land as demand for food is increasing and time left for the soil to fallow decreases and soil doesn’t regain its fertility