Jhum and environment
www.reein.org.
Jhum farming is generally called slash and burn agricultural practice. It is an old and special cultivation system practiced by the indigenous people of Chittagang Hill Tracts. It is the primary source of food, shelter and clothing of local people. In this practice, mixed seeds of cotton, chilli, cowpea, cucumber, gourd, rice, melon, pumpkin, maize, yams, sweet potatoes are sown in each pocket in the hilly areas. In three hill districts of Chittagong the indigenous people traditionally grow cotton following this indigenous technology. In Jhum cultivation cotton seeds are sown along with other crop seeds like- rice, chilli, maize, peanuts in the same pit/hill horizontally on the hill slope. The hill people harvest different crops in different times sequentially. But the practice of Jhum firming is not environment friendly. It is harmful for the biodiversity of the hilly areas of CHT. So, the DoE, national and international NGOs should come forward to help the indigenous people adopt modern agricultural practices.
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