Question

What is the other name of slash and burn agriculture?
A. Mixed agriculture
B. Plantation agriculture
C. Shifting agriculture
D. Subsistence agriculture

Answer 1

Hint: Slash and burn agriculture is also referred to as fire-fallow cultivation, a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland. This leads to the creation of a field called swidden.

Complete Answer:
Agriculture is the backbone of India. India ranks first with the highest net cropped area in the world followed by the US and China. Worth of $38 billion agricultural products were exported by India in 2013, making it the sixth-largest net exporter and the seventh-largest agricultural exporter worldwide. These agricultural products are exported to more than 120 countries. Out of 160 million hectares of cultivated land in India, about 39 million hectares could be irrigated using groundwater wells and an additional 22 million hectares by using irrigation canals. There are different types of agriculture like shifting cultivation (which is the rotation of crops), Intensive Pastoral Farming (which is focused on grazing of animals), mixed agriculture, subsistence agriculture, plantation agriculture, terrace farming, etc. The method of slash and burn agriculture begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The slash is left to get dried, usually before the rainiest part of the year. A nutrient-rich layer of ash is formed after burning the biomass, which makes the soil fertile. The temporary elimination of weed and pest species also helps in making the soil fertile.

Thus, option (C) is correct.

Note: This method is not suitable for large human populations. Inga alley cropping and slash – and – char are other types of methods that are used as alternatives that cause less environmental degradation than slash and burn agriculture.