Abstract
This chapter examines the economic implications of shifting cultivation in Mizoram, the eastern extension of the Himalaya. A household-level survey was conducted in 16 villages and a purposive random sampling method was employed to select households with 34.2% sampling size. The study reveals that production and yield of the principal crops grow under shifting cultivation has decreased during the last 17 years (2000–2017) whereas, there is a slight increase in area sown. It further shows that although, a large group of Jhumias are practicing shifting cultivation and growing subsistence cereals, yet, their economic viability is significantly less than cash crops. As a result, a large section of people in rural areas is living below the poverty line. The study suggests that for sustainable livelihood, cash crops can replace subsistence crops and shifting cultivation can be converted into permanent cultivation through terracing the Jhum plots.
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Notes
- 1.
Paddy is the staple crop and it has the highest area and production in the study villages.
- 2.
Number of infant death/numbers of live birth X 1000.
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Sati, V.P. (2020). Economic Implications of Shifting Cultivation. In: Economic and Ecological Implications of Shifting Cultivation in Mizoram, India. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36602-5_4
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