2. CROP AGRICULTURE SYSTEM IN CHTs Agriculture is the main source of livelihood and the incidence of poverty is very high in CHTs. About two thirds of rural households are farming households including 19% jhum households, 34% field cropping (plough cultivation) households, and 9% field and jhum agriculture; rest 38% households non-agricultural in CHTs. The two main land forms in the hilly areas are the hills and the valleys. The cultivation technologies practiced in CHTs for crop culture are plough and jhum, depending upon the suitability of the land. In CHTs, 35.87% land uses for forest, 27.60% for horticultural crops, 16.22% plough land, 15.52% Jhum land and rest 4.79% for settlements. Hill dwellers of CHTs mainly engage in fruit orcharding and shifting cultivation (jhum). Generally, valley dwellers engage in the plough cultivation of rice and tobacco, along with a few amounts of vegetable and fruit production.
2.1 Cropping Patterns in CHTs Annual crop based top cropping pattern in the CHTs was Boro-Fallow-T. Aman which accounts 15.07% NCA of CHTs followed by Fallow-Fallow-T. Aman (13.68% of NCA), FallowAus+Non-rice (shifting cultivation 9.24% of NCA) and others.
2.2 Plain land Plough Agriculture Plain land basically occupies valley bottoms, river bank and lower slopes in the CTH which are suitable for plough agriculture. Valleys and floodplains suitable for plough agriculture cover only 3.2% (270812 ha) of the total land in CHTs. About 7% of the plough land produces three crops, 25% produces two crops, and 68% produces one crop per year. Rice, tobacco, sugarcane, potatoes, bilatidhonia, maize, cotton, groundnuts, beans, different vegetables and fruit species are cultivated with the plough technology in the plain lands. The rice productivity of plough land in the CHTs is much higher (3.4 t ha-1 ) than shifting cultivation (1.5 t ha-1 ); rice cultivation in the valleys of the CHTs can yields higher profit than cultivated on the plain land of the country.
2.3.1 Shifting Cultivation (Jhum) in CHTs Jhum cultivation is a special kind of subsistence farming on sloppy hills of the indigenous hilly people in CHTs. This method of cultivation is also known as “Slash and Burn” or “Swidden” cultivation. About 60000 families engaged in shifting cultivation in CHTs (Khan and Alam, 2015). The major steps of Jhum cultivation including land selection, land preparation, sowing and planting, weeding, pest management, harvesting, threshing and storing (Figure 3). Land preparation usually starts from March for jhum cultivation. At first, the standing vegetation are slashed and allowed to dry during the dry period. The dried vegetation and the fallen logs are burnt in the month of April and May. The partially burnt or unburned logs are then dragged out of the Jhum land and piled up. The land is ready for crop establishment at the first shower, which usually occurs in April or May. Sowing commences as soon as the monsoons starts and the ground is saturated, generally in the months of May and June. Seeds of different crops are sown combinedly in single hill as per the cultivator’s provision. Harvesting starts from July and continued to December.
2.3.1.1 Jhum Cycle Practices Field Size of Shifting Cultivation Jhum cycle means the fallow period of shifting cultivation. Jhum cycle period is reduced over times and in present situation practiced fallow period 2-3 years only for shifting cultivation. In the past (before 2000) farmers followed a cycle of more than 5 years. The jhum cycle period is reduced due to establishment of hydroelectric dam, settlement of plain land people in hills, demographic pressure, declaring of forest protected areas, and increasing new plantation area. Before creation of Kaptai Dam the jhum cycle was 10 to 20 years or even more. A favourable agro-climatic environment for cultivating a number of high-value crops. This region is suitable for growing high-value crops like turmeric, ginger, pineapple, aroids, papaya, banana. Cultivation of turmeric and ginger on hill slope has become a potential factor for the tribe to earn cash income which has brought a positive change on their livelihood in the CHTs; and hilly farmers have been gaining economic stability through cultivating turmeric and ginger. Almost all the traditional farmers grow turmeric as it is more profitable than any other crops like paddy and banana. In CHTs, about 8000 ha of land are being used to cultivate turmeric and ginger, and together produces almost 50000 Metric ton of fresh rhizome in every year.