Forest Society and Colonialism — Social Studies STD 9 — Question
CBSE BoardEnglish MediumSTD 9Social StudiesForest Society and Colonialism5 Marks
Question
Write a short note on shifting cultivation.
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Answer
Shifting cultivation is a traditional agricultural practice in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. In shifting cultivation, parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation.
Seeds are sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains, and the crop is harvested by October-November.
Such plots are cultivated for a couple of years and then left fallow for 12 to 18 years for the forest to grow back.
A mixture of crops is grown on these plots. It has many local names such as lading in South-east Asia, milpa in Central America, chitemene or tavy in Africa, and chena in Sri Lanka.
In India, dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad and kumri are some of the local terms for shifting agriculture.
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