Transitioning shifting cultivation to resilient farming systems in South and Southeast Asia

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Jointly organized by: ICIMOD, The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Shifting cultivation is commonly perceived as a primitive agricultural practice, economically unviable and a cause of tropical deforestation and environmental degradation. Despite growing scientific evidence to the contrary and a revision of this position by several countries and international agencies, policies based on this misconception replace the practice with settled agriculture. Such policy positions in conjunction with market forces, have led to the rapid expansion of settled agriculture across landscapes in South and Southeast Asia. However, shifting cultivation persists across much of South and Southeast Asia and parts of Africa and Latin America. The management of shifting cultivation, therefore, remains enigmatic for governments across the world even today.

It is estimated that around 280 million hectares is under shifting cultivation globally, with around 110 million hectares in Asia alone. An estimated 200 million people in Asia are reportedly dependent on forest-based agriculture, including shifting cultivation. Efforts by governments to replace shifting cultivation with settled agriculture has not yielded the desired outcomes. Instead, research and field studies suggest the emergence of second-generation issues following transitions to settled agriculture affecting food availability particularly for poorer households, insecurity of tenure and an alarming increase in ecosystem degradation. This has ramifications for poverty alleviation and attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Management approaches and the policy framework governing transformation of shifting cultivation areas need an urgent reappraisal. Strategies facilitating transition of shifting cultivation need to be re-examined, redefined and remolded, to ensure that transformation of shifting cultivation does not result in drastic depletion of dietary diversity and malnourishment, increased insecurity of tenure or accelerate depletion of forest cover compromising the sustenance of ecosystem services. Left unaddressed, present approaches can lead to further distortion of shifting cultivation, perpetuating marginalization of shifting cultivators and further impoverishment, compromising their resilience as well as that of their food systems and the immediate environment supporting their livelihoods.

In this regard, the International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD) provided a grant to ICIMOD to convene an international symposium on ‘Transitioning shifting cultivation to resilient farming systems in South and Southeast Asia’ (held in Guwahati, India in June 2019) and prepare a series of knowledge products, including a  resource book and guidelines for transitioning shifting cultivation to resilient farming systems. The resource book and policy briefs provide an overview of the impacts on food availability, ecosystem services and security of tenure in the shift to settled agricultural systems, outlining approaches that can help avoid the negative fallout of transition and serve as guidelines for policy makers and practitioners.

ICIMOD and IFAD launched these knowledge products at the webinar.