Status of Small-scale Rubber and Shifting Cultivators at Bandarbans District, Bangladesh

The study explored the general overview of the small-scale rubber cultivators and shifting cultivators at Bandarbans District, Bangladesh. The living standard of small-scale rubber cultivators were higher than the shifting cultivators. The all-small-scale rubber farm households were divided into three classes rich, medium, and poor according to their present wealthy status where all shifting cultivators were unfortunately poor. The rich farm household of rubber cultivators had the highest annual income (177857 BDT) and shifting cultivators had an average lowest annual income (43842 BDT). In total 58% farmers had started latex collection, and 42% percent farmers were waiting to start latex. It seemed that only shifting cultivators worked as day labor and not involved in any other part-time profession. They had less livestock and agricultural land. About 48% of farmers cultivated banana as the intercrop in the rubber garden for the first few years followed by fruits (13%), ginger (11%), vegetables (8%), pineapple (8%), garlic (6%) and rice (6%). All the respondents (100%) faced financial, VAT and transportation problem. About 88% respondents faced clone selection problem followed by insufficient land allocation (85%), marketing problem (79%), shortage of skilled manpower (65%), latex collection (58%), skilled tapper (52%), diseases (17%) and others (25%).

Shifting Cultivation and Strategies to Cope with Food Scarcity of Ethnic Minorities in Nghean province, Vietnam

Shifting cultivation is still an important form of agricultural production and is suitable for mountainous areas. To ensure food security and improve the lives of mountainous residents, it is necessary to have active swidden management measures based on local experience and technical advances to exploit land resources effectively and sustainably. This paper concludes that an effective shifting cultivation control strategy would require (1) Changes in awareness, farming practices and customs of local people; (2) Changes in policy institutions such as granting land ownership rights to shifting cultivators, linking shifting cultivation areas with local and regional market centres through infrastructure development, and provision of necessary support services such as extension, credit and marketing.

Disaster Mitigation Based on Local Wisdom in Shifting Cultivators Communities

The Tolaki tribe, which is a native who inhabits the mainland areas of Southeast Sulawesi Province, some still manage their lives through traditional natural resource management. Strong traditions, including preserving the environment and forests in the Tolaki ethnic group, are always maintained. This study was directed to find out and examine the local wisdom of the Tolaki people in moving farming activities (monda'u) related to disaster mitigation, especially natural disasters of floods, landslides, and fires. The research approach used is qualitative, where the primary data collection techniques are observation and in-depth interviews. The results showed much local wisdom in an institution that has been maintained to oversee forest support and sustainability. This indicates that in monda'u activities, Tolaki people have long provided education avoiding natural disasters for generations. Norms regarding the location of the field location, the right time to farm, the rules and ordinances of the opening, burning, and clearing of land in the monda'u tradition are loaded with mitigation against floods' natural disasters, landslides, and fires. This local wisdom can be integrated into modern agricultural systems to minimize natural disasters.

Strategi Peladang Berpindah di Routa Dalam Rangka Menguatkan Klaim Hak Atas Tanah Bekas Areal Perladangan Berpindah di Masa Lalu

Claims of rights to land formerly shifting cultivation areas in the past, as referred to by the terms orawu, anahoma, laliwata and osambu are now increasingly ineffective - one of which is because the former shifting cultivation area has been abandoned for a long time where the trees have grown as usual, until hardly leaving the slightest sign of former swidden cultivation areas. As a result, lands in the former shifting cultivation areas in the past are now being taken over and controlled by other parties. This research, which lasted for six months, was conducted in Routa District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, considering that in this area a new phenomenon has developed in which land formerly cultivated areas in the past was re-opened by their descendants of current shifting cultivators in order to strengthen land rights claims. There are …. informants participated in this study, including shifting cultivators and descendants of shifting cultivators, government officials, and local law enforcers. Data collection techniques were carried out through interviews and observations. The study shows that the current strategy of the descendants of shifting cultivators in Routa is to re-open their parents' former shifting cultivation areas - this strategy is increasingly emphasized through planting growing crops, creating boundaries and legalizing land rights with both SKT and SHM. These strategies have proven to be quite successful in overcoming the encroachment of former shifting cultivation areas as well as providing new economic bases for shifting cultivators in the form of land and gardens.

The strategy of shifting cultivators in West Kalimantan in adapting to the market economy: empirical evidence behind gaps in interdisciplinary communication

Issues of climate change and expansion of large-scale land acquisition for industrial plantations continue to ravage the shifting cultivation system that 300–500 million subsistence farmer households depend on. In Indonesia, particularly in Kalimantan and Sumatera, village communities continue to practice shifting cultivation amidst the conversion of lands into industrial plantations. The rampant conversion of farmer's land by large scale companies based in the market economy has resulted in the decline of the shifting cultivation system, and compelled them to enter commercial production. I employed qualitative methods, conducting in-depth interviews and observations in West Kalimantan in 2018. Shifting cultivation today is not just for subsistence, but it is also a strategy to maintain claims to land that has been handed over to companies. Concurrently, people have been developing community plantations using industrial commodities such as rubber and oil palm, which still incorporate subsistence features. The changes occurring in villages have led to conflict since land availability has reduced, while the alternative of working for forestry and plantation companies is hampered by their lack of skills and knowledge. Theoretically, this study indicates the need for communication and synergy between the perspectives of political ecology and cultural ecology in order to understand the socio-politico-economic complexities haunting the village community's alterations in subsistence strategies. The practical implications are that land-based village development should open up communication among stakeholders and position village communities as the key beneficiary in the long run.Keywords: Shifting cultivation, land conversion, adaptation strategy, market economy, political ecology, Kalimantan, Indonesia

Review Note on Shifting Cultivation in Northeast India amidst Changing Perceptions

Historically, shifting cultivation has been traced back to the neolithic period. It has undergone transitions from being a subsistence agriculture to small surpluses. Despite the global changes intruding into the socio-economic sphere of the tribal communities across Northeastern region of India, shifting cultivation continues to play an important role in providing livelihoods and food security to the rural tribal households. It seems that shifting cultivation is closely tied to the cultural identity of the tribal people. Therefore, its importance lies beyond mere economic concerns. Though with government interventions and under innovative shifting cultivation, the farmers in the region have switched to newer methods of cultivation, shifting cultivation continues parallel to sedentary cultivation accommodating at the same time the value system and needs of the tribal society. Concurrently, the Jhumias – shifting cultivators are constantly incorporating new measures into shifting cultivation to make it ecologically less destructive. Amidst changing perceptions on shifting cultivation practices, the paper tries to analyse the continuance of shifting cultivation in the region.

PERMASALAHAN SOSIAL PADA MASYARAKAT LADANG BERPINDAH AKIBAT PERKEBUNAN KELAPA SAWIT DI DESA SEMPURNA KECAMATAN SUNGAI LAUR KABUPATEN KETAPANG

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system, that has the characteristic of cutting or slashing techniques, which are burned in dry land areas, there is no intensive irrigation and are palnted with sort-lived plants. In general, after being worked on for less than three years, they are left behind. The plants are of rice secondary crops with a simple processing technique, namely by using tugal, accompanied by land use and palnt maintaince without fertilization According to Koentjaraningrat (1977), Almost all of the people in Sempurna village before the palm oil plantations used to do shifting cultivation, but after the oil palm plantations began operating in 2002 the peoples who carried out shifting cultivation from 428 households recorded only 2.8% or 12 families. The purpose of this study was to examine the social problems of shifting fields due to oil palm plantation in the Sempurna village, Sungai Laur sub-district, Ketapang district. The benefits of this study as information to policy makers in Ketapang district about social problem in shifting fields communities due to the oil palm plantation in the Sempurna village, Sungai Laur sub-district, Ketapang district with the survey method. Data collection techniques through observation, interviews and documentation. Interviews were conducted by purposive sampling, namely the discussion in the form data analysis which included the interpretation of all data collected, arrange the results of the research in such away that it became clear and directed qualitative descriptive information. The indentity of the respondent taken based on the type of work of the respondent. The age of the respondents in this study was not determined because in this study the respondents selected were not based on age but based on who the people were still doing shifting cultivation. Administratively, Sempurna Village is an area in the sub-district of Sungai Laur, Ketapang Regency with an area of 992 (ha). The problem is faced by the people still doing shifting cultivation is that every year they find difficult to get land, so the people who use the protected forest of Gunung Palung National Park, the reason they dare to use protected forest areas as they cultivate because, more difficult to get land because those who are not protected forest area are now increasingly planted with oil palm plantations.Keyword : Ketapang District, Palem Oil, Sempurna Villages, Shifting Cultivators, Sosial Problems