Excerpt of shifting cultivation in Manipur : Labour and environment

Marchang Reimeingam *

Jhum Cultivation seen in this Breath-taking landscape of Manipur :: Pix - Bullu Raj

The practice of shifting cultivation has contributed in the reduction of the forest cover area in the Hills of Manipur. According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI) 2011, forest covers loss by 190 km2 during December 2006/January 2007 to January/February 2009 (satellite data) in Manipur. Further, the FSI 2013 recorded a loss of 100 km2 forest cover. FSI persistently remarked that such loss in the forest cover is mainly because of extensive practiced of shifting cultivation.

FSI further noted that shifting cultivation contributes to soil erosion and destabilization of the ecology. Meanwhile, population growth which mainly supplies the rural agricultural labour has raised the demand for tillable agriculture land thereby reducing the forest cover. As such the conditions of forest keep on changing due to the human intervention. Overall size of forest area has gradually declined as a result the share of forest cover in the total geographical area has declined to about 76 percent in 2013 from the past. Specific reason of decrease in the forest cover in Manipur is due to the practice of shifting cultivation and biotic pressure in major parts of the state (FSI, 2013).

Moreover, in Manipur, the reserved and protected forest has eventually declined due to land encroachment for development and human settlement. Forest land re-vegetation is also taking place as dense forest improves particularly in the Hills. Concurrently, contribution from agriculture in the state's income has declined substantially; however, income from forestry and logging improves in most recent times.

Forest exploitation for shifting cultivation and other forest products is significant in the state. Majority (71 percent) of the forest production are major forest products like timber (teak and others), firewood, charcoal and post and pole and the rest 29 percent was accounted for minor forest product such as cane, stone, sand, bamboo etc in the total forest production value of Rs.135.31 lakh in 2007-08 (Economic Survey Manipur, 2014).

As per the Central Statistical Office (2013), forestry and logging contribution to gross state domestic product (GSDP) was Rs.493 lakh in 1980-81 (at 1980-81 prices) that has increased to Rs.19079 lakh in 2012-13 (at 2004-05 prices). It constituted 2.36 percent of the GSDP in 2012-13. Moreover, agriculture contribution to GSDP has substantially declined, particularly due to an improvement in industry sector, to about 22 percent in 2012-13 from 43 percent in 1980-81.

The actual cultivated land (i.e. net sown area) in Manipur has increased remarkably as more and more rural labour is pressed on shifting cultivation. Cultivated land out of the total reporting land for utilization has increased to slightly over 16 percent in 2010-11 from 11 percent in 1996-97 reducing forest area in the state. In Hills more than half of the rice cultivated area was under shifting cultivation.

The shifting cultivation system's nature of intensive labour activity has absorbed majority of the agriculture workers in it in the Hills. Shifting cultivation is ever increasing due to population growth without sufficient employment alternatives.

In Manipur, there were about 50 thousand families engaging in shifting cultivation (North East Council, 1974) that rose to 70 thousand families in 1983 (Task Force Report on Shifting Cultivation in India).

Furthermore, using census data and assuming that 60 percent of the agriculturists (cultivators plus agricultural labourers) were engaging in shifting cultivation where labour is intensive under shifting cultivation gives a figure of 1.63 lakh workers in 2006. The per capita shifting cultivated land for shifting cultivators has increased from 0.16 hectare in 1992 to 0.28 hectare in 2006 due to the decline in productivity and soil fertility as the cycle declines, while each cultivator is attempting to produce targeted subsistence production.

Nonetheless, about two percent of the entire Hills geographical areas were under shifting cultivation. It requires an adoption of appropriate and efficient land-use planning and policy to avoid land degradation and deforestation in the Hills. Agriculture productivity is considerably lower in the Hills due to the practice of shifting cultivation where traditional inputs including seeds are used; but chemical fertilizers and HYV seed are not used making the produced an organic products. In 2012-13, out of the total 23395 tonnes of fertilizers (urea, DAP, etc.) 3.85 percent was used in the Hill districts and the rest was used in the Valley districts.

Similarly, only 3.95 percent was used in the Hill districts out of the total 10844 tonnes of chemical fertilizers (NPK) used in the state. Interestingly, rice production in the Hill areas is more than its population composition in the state indicating Hill people are more self sustaining than the Valley counterpart in terms of rice production and availability. In 2011, the per capita rice production is more in the Hills at 167 kgs against the Valley's 142 kgs per annum. However, both the Hills and the Valleys faces a shortage of rice when compared with the DES (2007) estimates of 193.38 kgs of annual per capita rice consumption.

The yield of rice has declined, which needs an attention, in the Hills and Valleys resulting to an overall fall in the state's yield over the years. The pressure of shifting cultivators on land has eventually reduced the fallow period substantially resulting to poor land rejuvenation and replenishment of soil fertility. It is crucial to set a minimum of five years as a threshold level for one complete cycle for shifting cultivation in order to adequately re-vegetate and regenerate soil fertility.

It is crucial and critical to make an alternative arrangement for shifting cultivation by supporting and providing a sufficient working capital to ensure cultivators to adopt and use inputs effectively and efficiently. Ensuring food security and restructuring of land ownership system from community to individual or private is imperative to reduce the practice of shifting cultivation and conserve forest cover.

However, shifting cultivation cannot be completely removed since it has linkages with indigenous ethnic culture. It calls forth to identify a secure and specific means of social and environmental security to reduce the negative effects of the system and promote ecological and economic values.