In the Western Ghats region, shifting cultivation is locally known as:

In the Western Ghats region, especially in the hilly forest areas of Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, shifting cultivation is traditionally called "Kumari" (or "Kumri").

What is shifting cultivation?

Shifting cultivation is a primitive form of farming, also called "slash and burn" agriculture.

Farmers clear a patch of forest by cutting down trees and burning the vegetation. The ash adds nutrients to the soil.

Crops such as millets, maize, upland rice, tubers and vegetables are grown for a few years, using simple tools like hoes and digging sticks.

When the soil loses its fertility, the farmers move to a new patch of forest and repeat the process. The old patch is left to recover.

It is practised mainly by tribal communities in hilly and forested regions.

Problems:

When the fallow period becomes too short because of population pressure, the forest cannot recover. This leads to deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity.

Yields are low, and it supports only subsistence farming.

Governments promote settled farming, terrace farming, horticulture and tree planting as alternatives.

Regional names of shifting cultivation in India:

Jhum (Jhoom): north-eastern states, such as Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. It is the most common and widely known name.

Bewar or Dahiya: Madhya Pradesh (in the Bundelkhand region and among the Baiga tribe).

Several other regional names are used in eastern and central India and on the islands.

Names in other countries:

Milpa (Mexico and Central America), Roca (Brazil), Conuco (Venezuela), Masole (Congo region of Africa) and Ray (Vietnam).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Jhum is the name used in north-eastern India.
• ✗Bewar is the name used in Madhya Pradesh.
• ✗Valre is the name used in south-eastern Rajasthan.