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by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe

Chena cultivation, also known as shifting cultivation, is the most primitive type of agriculture known to man from the dawn of civilisation. It involves the clearing of either primeval or second growth of jungle land every year for cultivation of dry-land products such as 'tala', 'amu', 'kurakkan', 'meneri', 'badairingu', 'thana', 'mung', 'bajiri' and varieties of vegetables, which have a ready market as subsidiary crops.

This 'chena' cultivation does not make use of the same piece of land (unlike where paddy is grown) and goes on rotation of crops. The 'chena' cultivator cuts down, at regular intervals, the trees of a small jungle land and set fire to the woody growths as far as possible, to begin cultivation. This virgin land is most suitable for cultivation in view of its rich soil.

Planting

Among the charred stumps and half-burnt tree trunks, the farmer plants his favourite crop, be they cereals, millet of vegetables, and even yams and sweet-potatoes. In certain Asian countries, when it comes to planting cereals, the men take the planting stick, and make little holes on the ground, and the women drops the seeds, and cover them with the use of their feet. As jungle land is generally free from weeds or grasses, and the soil is usually rich in humus (decomposed organic matter in the soil), and well supplied with ash of burnt plant matter after clearing, it produces a very good, or even excellent, first harvest. The second harvest begins to show a decline in yield, and, thereafter, the returns diminish rapidly. Grasses and weeds invade the clearing.

Rather than battle these, the farmer abandons his old 'chena' and cuts and burns a new plot of jungle land elsewhere at his sole discretion. The old plot of land reverts under favourable conditions, to a second-growth, within a few years. 'Chena' cultivation is characterised by a lack of tillage, the soil is hardly disturbed, as no plough turns it.

less labour

There is thus less labour involved than in other methods of cultivation, and the work is more evenly spread over the year, and is an advantage where labour is relatively scarce, except watering the plants when necessary.

The labour involved is cutting, burning and planting, and sometimes, fencing is necessary to prevent damage by wild animals. Weeding is also necessary at certain stages of growth. 'Chena' cultivation may briefly be defined as a form of agriculture where the rotation of fields becomes more important than crops. These farmers prefer flat land but, sometimes, they are forced to select hilly lands with steep slopes, depending on the topography of the land. sedentary

Many 'chena' cultivators do not change their dwellings, when they select new lands, since they become sedentary as far as their homes are concerned. They may build a hut in the 'chena' to protect the crops from wild animals that roam in search of food, specially at times when the ripening crop has to be protected, mostly from ungulates including wild elephants. 'Chena' cultivators have no concept of private land ownership. Very often these jungle lands belong to the state, and the cultivators do not try to claim such land as their own, due to the process of shifting cultivation. The person who clears the land, plants the crops, and gets the produce for his labour. In common practice nobody has the right to plant a plot of land that has been cleared by someone else. Hence, as soon as the land is abandoned, all rights to it are forfeited.

ownership

However, if trees have been planted, the ownership of the trees and their produce remains with the person who planted them, and he is given preference when the land has had a sufficient fallow period and can be cultivated again. Generally, the fallow period allows time only for the evolution of mediocre second-growth jungle, because the 'chena' cultivator usually returns to an old 'chena', after a lapse of years, allowing the jungle growth to come back as it was before, when new sprouts have grown out of old burnt stumps.

If fire repeatedly invades and abandoned 'chena', the tree flora is reduced until finally old grasses and herbs survive. This happens because the root systems, tubers and bulbs, give out their new shoots after the fire. Some trees burn very rapidly and with a lot of flame, even when still green. This prevents natural reforestation.

Once the vegetation of a land has been changed from jungle to grass, for purpose of 'chena' cultivation, it is of no more agricultural use to the 'chena' cultivator, mostly due to the scarcity of water as required by paddy. But, these 'chenas' are frequented by wild animals, having been attracted by the growth of young grass, which become well grown during the rainy season. The spread of grass is especially rapid in regions where water is available, even during the dry season. Even 'ganja' (cannabis) is grown in 'chenas', sometimes extending to acres of land, within jungle-clad country, since it is a legally prohibited plant and the use is highly addictive and also injurious to health.

Agriculturists are of the view that 'chena' cultivation does not only alter the character of the vegetation, but also include soil erosion, specially when planted in steepy mountain slopes. Jungle vegetation keeps the soil from being washed away, but when such lands become exposed due to clearing for 'chena' cultivation, the risk of erosion is high. Consequently, during the rainy season with heavy downpour, large quantities of topsoil are washed downhill to be carried by rivers to the plains.

Erosion, by lowering the moisture-holding capacity of the soil as well as the rate of absorption, may thus cause further acceleration of run-off water leading to destructive floods inundating the lowlands.

Philippines

In Philippines, the forester has for many years, being opposed to 'chena' cultivation, has openly expressed "That the greatest enemy of our forests is the 'chena' cultivator. It is to the persistent practice of this crude form of agriculture, from time immemorial, that the existence of vast areas of denuded waste lands, can be attributed. Much of our valuable timber has been and still being wasted by this form of forest clearing."

The Dutch in Java spoke of 'chena' cultivation as 'Raubbau' (robber economy), whereas the conflicting opinion was that it could be considered as a 'primitive economy', in which the per capita area of land needed for a community is rather large and in which the forest growth is to be considered as a part of a long-term rotation of fields. The problems which arise today are mainly due to the changes forced on this system by the restriction of land, the stabilisation of population and the extension of cultivation in order to produce crops for sale. 'Chena' cultivation is admirably adapted to the needs of the people, as most of the vegetable produce we get are from the 'chenas'.

Enroute to Kataragama or Anuradhapura from Colombo, we come across many side stalls where vegetable products are kept for sale. Most of these are the products of 'chena' cultivators who have cleared plots of land into the interior for purpose of cultivation. point of view

'Chena' cultivation, from an agricultural point of view, is not an objectionable venture, so long as the vegetation and the fertility of the soil are restored by nature. From a silvicultural point of view, shifting cultivation or 'chena' cultivation, can be considered objectionable, if it destroys valuable timber, which is a natural asset, that would otherwise be exploited by the government. The illicit felling of valuable trees for timber, with or without permits, is something which requires great concern as a gradually losing asset of the country.

Although the government does not extend its support for 'chena' cultivation, the producers have not lost their faith in this type of agriculture, which is much wanting.

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