Shifting cultivation has serious impact on ecology: Survey

Newindpress.com,23 Feb,2008

BHAWANIPATNA: Shifting cultivation (Podu), an age-old practice being followed by the tribals of Kalahandi in absence of adequate agriculture land and other sources of employment has been causing extensive damage to the forests in the recent years.If a survey conducted by Watershed Mission is to be believed, shifting cultivation is not too beneficial for the tribals as well. More than 30,000 hectares of forest area in the district, cultivated through Podu, have been affected.According to the survey, on an average, for shifting cultivation, each family cultivates about five acres on a hill slope (in some cases also, upto the hill top) and is engaged for about six months in the process.The return in form of minor agriculture products is to the tune of about Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500 per acre annually. But, in the process, valuable vegetation is lost amounting to a loss of lakhs of rupees per acre.Besides, due to extensive Podu, there is loss of top soil causing siltation in river & water bodies and forest degradation leading to poor availability of minor forest produce on which the tribals are dependant, the report clarified. Keeping all these in view, a project has been prepared for prevention of shifting cultivation in Thuamul Rampur, Lanjigarh and Madanpur Rampur blocks.The project envisages to provide assured income to people involved in Podu and creation of awareness to desist people from the practice.On Friday, a high level meeting chaired by Collector took stock of the scenario. It was decided for coordination of different line departments in the process and take up NREGS works on a large scale in the Podu affected areas to provide people with employment.Among other things, it was also decided to plant different economical and fruit-bearing trees in the affected areas and hand over the rights of maintenance to the persons involved in the practice besides improving their socio-economic condition.