Jhum

[1] It is a traditional agricultural technique that involves clearing land of trees and other vegetation, burning it, and then cultivating it for a set number of years.

Afterwards, they clean the land and dry the wood, bamboo and plants they have cut down in the sun.

Next, around May the jhummias dig holes in the burnt jhum soil and sow different types of seeds, including paddy, sweet pumpkin, cotton, sesame, and maize, which are cultivated several months later, depending on the particular crop.

It reduces the soil fertility and crop yield over time and as a result, production declines so much that a Jhummia family cannot survive in one place.

Due to these reasons, the crop yield has now declined at a huge rate, making it critical to devise suitable alternatives to jhum cultivation.