Shifting Cultivation is a wide agricultural system or practiced in most tropical countries. Even from its easier way of clearing the area, it also brought effects to the environment such as soil erosion,forest degradation and sometimes wildfire. Nevertheless, it is used and traditionally practiced that dry-rice cultivators still up to it.
It has been said that during the stagnation of the yield crops, the field is deserted and new ground is cleared due to slash and burn methods, leaving the land to renew. It is mostly practiced in other country like tribes of tropical Africa, tropical south and Central America and in south-east Asia.
I live in a mountainous barangay which farming is the source of income. It is not new to me that it is one of the agricultural system practiced in the world where a plot of land has been cultivated for years until the crop yield declines due to soil exhaustion and the effects of pests and weeds. Crops that mostly planted that I have observe during the planting, sprouting and harvesting in our neighboring area is rice corn, root crops and vegetables.
In our country, which is the Philippines, it is popularly known as “pagkakaingin” or “kaingin”. To clean the area of the land since mostly the farmers believe it is the easier way to clean the area. Due to burning method they also perceive it as it makes the soil more fertile that is cause by the ashes and it is good to be planted again for another crop.
When I was a kid, during nighttime, I always goes outside our house to go to my Auntie’s house or to grandma’s house since our area is surrounded by hills and when I see fires in there I unconsciously shout ” there’s a fire!, there’s a fire!” and I received an answer that the fire is intentional to clear the area or burn it.
Mostly, shifting cultivation that I have seen in our area takes place on hillside. After a years or decade of burning it, they will plant crops that is seasonal so that they have a source of food and income as well. The reason they decided to use the slash and burn method in the area located on a hillside and plant crops up there is to avoid the destruction of animals since other people have an animals often do pastures and accidentally the animal will eat the crops. Some farmers see convenience in planting in a hillside, even it is at risk.
Traditionally, the area that has been slashed and burned will take years or even decade to reused again that’s why farmers will left the area and goes to another piece of land and does the same again, it is cyclical. Since, the farmers always find an area that has good quality and good condition of soil where they will start planting there for another crops that they have decided to put in to have an income.
With this, we can really say that it also brought disadvantages even if the only aim of this is to make the plot more desirable to plant after a year. It also causes many effects to the environment as well as risk to human being due to this.
Blogging with Niña 