(a)Define shifting cultivation (b)Describe the practice of shifting cultivation in Nigeria under the following headings: i.three characteristics ii.two bene...

(a) Definition of shifting cultivation

Shifting cultivation is a form of farming in which a piece of land (usually cleared by cutting and burning the bush) is cultivated for a few years until its fertility declines, then abandoned; the farmer moves to clear and cultivate a fresh piece of land, often relocating his settlement as well.

(b) The practice of shifting cultivation in Nigeria

(i) Three characteristics

• Land is cleared by the slash-and-burn method (cutting the vegetation and burning it, the ash acting as fertiliser).
• A plot is cultivated for a few years, then abandoned to fallow when fertility falls, and a new plot is opened.
• Simple tools (hoe and cutlass) and family labour are used; farms are small and mixed cropping is common.

(ii) Two benefits

• Burning and long fallow allow the soil to regain its fertility naturally without chemical fertilisers.
• It requires little capital and simple tools, so it is cheap and suitable for poor farmers.

(iii) Four disadvantages

• It requires large areas of land and is wasteful where land is scarce.
• Output is low, producing little surplus for sale or industry.
• Burning destroys soil organisms and exposes the land to erosion and loss of nutrients.
• Constant movement makes it hard to provide permanent infrastructure and to mechanise.
• Deforestation and destruction of vegetation result from repeated clearing and burning.