Chin State government encouraged farmers to harvest the corps on permanent farm land by using modern upland cultivation and slopping land technologies

The Chin State Government aims to reduce and eventually put a stop to shifting cultivation, said Mang Hen Dal, state minister for agriculture, livestock, forestry and mines.

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily and later abandoned to allow the lands to revert to their natural vegetation. Meanwhile, the cultivator moves on to another plot.

The main disadvantages of shifting cultivation are forest decimation and climate change. The areas are also prone to landslides and floods. Meanwhile, the cost of cultivation is also higher for farmers. 

The state government is now encouraging farmers to harvest their crops on permanent farm land using modern upland cultivation and slopping agriculture land technologies, Mang Hen Dal said.

To encourage the cultivation of permanent crops such as coffee, mulberries, avocado, grape, yam, cluster beans and apples, the state government will allocate 5000 acres of land for upland cultivation via mechanised farming and 55 acres for slopping agriculture land technology, Mang Heng Dal said.

As Chin State is a mountainous area, farmers have traditionally relied on shifting cultivation methods to harvest crops. “To encourage farmers to grow permanent and more sustainable crops such as coffee and avocado, we will stop giving support to those who still opt for shifting cultivation crops,” Shing Khe, the director of Mindat Farmers Group Company in Chin State, said.

Chin State has set officials to increase upland farm cultivation and raise income from agriculture. There is currently over 50,000 acres land being used for shifting cultivation paddy, according to official data of the Chin State Government. 

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/chin-farmers-urged-grow-permanent-crops.html )

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