Why in the News?
The Dongar cultivation, a hill-slope mixed cropping system of the Kondh tribals in Odisha’s Rayagada is now under decline due to eucalyptus monoculture.
What is Dongar Cultivation?
- Overview: A traditional shifting/mixed cropping system practised on hill slopes (uplands) by the Kondh tribal community in Odisha.
- Crops grown: Millets (finger millet, foxtail millet), pulses, oilseeds, and even uncultivated foods like wild tubers.
- Benefits offered: Provides nutritional diversity, supports birds and biodiversity, and maintains soil fertility without chemical inputs.
- Cultural practice: Linked to seed conservation, labour exchange, and community-based farming traditions, reflecting a holistic tribal food system.
- Significance: Its poly-cropping nature makes it more resilient to rainfall variability and climate shocks, unlike monocultures.
Other Traditional Cultivation Practices in India:
| Type | Key Features |
| Bewar / Dahiya (Madhya Pradesh Baiga & Gond tribes, Dindori district) | Shifting cultivation; mixed cropping of millets, pulses, oilseeds; similar to Dongar; sustainable tribal food system. |
| Poonam Krishi (Western Ghats, Maharashtra & Karnataka) | Traditional multi-cropping around rice fields; ensures year-round food and fodder security. |
| Pamlou (Manipur) | Form of jhum (slash-and-burn) cultivation; rotational clearing of forests; crops include cereals, pulses, vegetables; supports subsistence farming. |
| Kuruma / Podu (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh) | Hill-slope shifting cultivation; millets and pulses dominant; threatened by monoculture plantations and forest restrictions. |
| Apatanis’ Wet Rice Cultivation – Arunachal Pradesh | Intensive valley wetland system; combines paddy farming with fish rearing; highly sustainable and productive. |
| [UPSC 2018] With reference to the circumstances in Indian agriculture, the concept of “Conservation Agriculture” assumes significance. Which of the following fall under the Conservation Agriculture?
1. Avoiding the monoculture practices 2. Adopting minimum tillage 3. Avoiding the cultivation of plantation crops 4. Using crop residues to cover soil surface 5. Adopting spatial and temporal rop sequencing/crop rotations. Select the correct answer using the code given below: Options: (a) 1, 3 and 4 (b) 2, 3, 4 and 5 (c) 2, 4 and 5 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 5* |
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