Pros and Cons ofShifting Cultivation

~Why people practice shifting cultivation~

Takatoshi AKAI

231 JOCV/JICA

KWS Malindi Marine Park

Outline

• The present condition in the world

• Pros of Shifting Cultivation

• Shifting Cultivation in the world

• Failed NGO activity

• Cons of Shifting Cultivation

• Real problem

• Solution

Question• Do you think shifting cultivation

lead deforestation,

so we should stop it?

The present condition in the world

• There are 250 million (250,000,000) people practicing shifting cultivation.

• But, there are pros and cons to practice shifting cultivation towards sustainable development

1. Soil in tropical zone, contained acid, which is not suit for agriculture.

2. When we set off fire in forest, ash neutralize acid and it will also become fertilizer.

Mr. Acid

Pros of Shifting Cultivation

Mr. Acid

3. Heat of fire wake up seed to sprout

4. Fire will eliminate weed, insect pest, and germ

Wake Up!

Shifting Cultivation in the world← 　 Papua New Guinea

Banana, taro, corn, sweet potato, bean

Belize →Bean, cornEvery 5 years practice shifting cultivation.Maya civilization also depended on this shifting cultivation.

In 1983

Malaysia (ginger)

Finland（ turnip ）

Indonesia in 1990s

Panama in 2000

India in 2006 New Caredonia in 2007

Case Study: Hanunoo peopleHanunoo people in Mindaro Island, in Philippine,

cultivate rice, corn in 1st year.Sweet potato, yam, cassava in 2nd year.Banana, abaca, bamboo, and fruit in 3rd year, by

shifting cultivation.

Case Study: Hanunoo people

• They will wait 8~10 years after shifting cultivation.• So there is no erosion.• After burn forest, soil absorb water more, so

reduce water flow.• Also, after few weeks, timber and ash protect soil

from erosion.

Misunderstand by NGO• NGO help people to stop shifting

cultivation, and change into whole year field to increase productivity.

• But, after few year, productivity reduced.

• So, people use nitrogenous fertilizer, which cost a lot.

• But, it will kill the land in few year.

Misunderstand by Company

• Since 2002, Cosmo Oil Co. let people to stop shifting cultivation of rice in Philippine.

• Then introduced cassava to grow.

• This company create CM, which looks like shifting cultivation is bad habit.

Difference betweenShifting cultivation and Rice field

3 years 5 years

Farming

Farming

Gave up bush grow

Farming

10 years

Start to using fertilizer

Secondary forest

30 years

Thick forest

Loss of nutrient and rejected

Cons of Shifting Cultivation

Shifting cultivation is productivity in 1st year,

but from 2nd year, it reduce productivity every year.

Why productivity reduced?

①Lack of phosphorusShifting cultivation reduce phosphorus in soil. Phosphorus is one of the three important chemical to grow plants.

②Outflow of soilForest act like “sun shade” for soil.Once forest dismissed, soil get easy to dryness.Then soil flow by wind and rain.

nitrogen phosphoruspotassium

Real problem①

3~5 years to grow 10~20 years to rest

Every year to grow

Result

①Forest burn out before it recover

②Soil flow into river by rain

③300,000,000 people cannot stop work for soil

④Draught

Real problem②

Knowledge follow family

Lack of knowledgeFarming for survive

Since long time family followed

Need to find out land to farming

Less damage

Much damage

Solution: Practice in Honduras

• They are practicing “Allay Cropping”.• Plant tree in line, and between those trees, cultivate

crops.• This tree named “Inga”, kind of bean tree.• It grow fast and provide much nitrogen in soil.• This tree make arbor, so weed faced difficult to grow.

• When it grow too much, people chop down and use it for fire wood.

• People used to practice shifting cultivation and move around.

• However, after this practice, they settled down in their place.

Conclusion

• Shifting cultivation is one of the most eco friendly technique for farming.

• Some people and NGO misunderstand about shifting cultivation, so education is required.

• There are many farmers practice shifting cultivation in all over the world today.