Jhuming vs. settled cultivation-a micro level study in the West Garo Hills of India

Jhuming also known as shifting cultivation is a primitive cultivation practise largely practised by the tribal communities across the world. The farming system prevalent in the Garo Hills is a combination of jhuming and settled cultivation. The present study was conducted to study the current status and extent of jhuming vis-à-vis settled cultivation prevalent among the Garo tribes of the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, India which is majorly inhibited by the Garo tribes. For the current study farm level data were collected from 160 respondents selected on the basis of disproportionate stratified sampling from all the eight rural development blocks of West Garo Hills district. Farm level study revealed that the West Garo Hills is dominated by small and medium land holdings followed by large and marginal ones. About 90 per cent of sample farmers of West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya opined that jhum cultivation is not sustainable in its present form. On the other hand majority of the jhum practitioners feel that settled cultivation cannot provide them different variety of crops needed for consumption and exchange purpose, except paddy. As jhuming was progressively losing its utility to sustain the jhumia family throughout the year, a new farming system has emerged in the West Garo Hills wherein the hill farmers practise a combination of jhum and settled cultivation.