SHIFTING AGRICULTURE

Shifting cultivation is an extensive farming practice and refers to agricultural systems in which a plot of land is temporarily cleared (usually by burning) and cultivated for short periods of time, then abandoned and left in fallow for more extended periods of time than that during which it was cultivated. During the fallow period, the land reverts to its natural vegetation, and the shifting cultivator moves on to another plot and repeats the process.
Shifting cultivation is a type of subsistence agriculture, i.e. crops are primarily grown to provide food for the farmer and his/her family. If there is any surplus, it may be bartered or sold. In this way, shifting cultivation is a self-sufficient system.

Traditionally, in addition to being self-sufficient, the shifting cultivation system was a very sustainable form of farming. This was because the population involved in its practice was much lower, and there was enough land for the fallow periods to be very long. However, in contemporary times, this is not necessarily so; as the population has grown, the land available has become lower.