Role of Traditional Farming Practices of Northeast India in Soil and Water Conservation and Sustainable Nutrient Management

Traditional farming practices in the northeastern region (NER) of India have been in vogue for centuries. Such indigenous farming systems are tribe specific with cultural values and can contribute to achieving food security, sustaining soil fertility, augmenting carbon sequestration, and thereby mitigating climate change. Northeast India constitutes 25% of the country’s forest, which is spread across eight states, viz., Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, and Sikkim. The region is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot with a habitat for more than 200 tribes. Most of the forest areas in these regions are community owned. These ethnic communities associated with a long history developed few indigenous farming techniques, which are eco-friendly for the conservation and preservation of natural resources. Shifting cultivation (jhum) is the predominant traditional farming practice in NER. Hilly and undulating terrains have forced these tribes to convert the community-owned forest to agricultural land through slash- and burn-cultivation. The energy efficiency and economic return in jhum are also higher than in valley and terrace cultivation. However, due to the decrease in the jhum land fallow period as a result of population pressure and food demand, the rate of soil degradation multiplied many fold. Such repeated cultivation of lands with short jhum cycles has triggered a fear of permanent conversion of jhum lands into wastelands. Nevertheless, there are a few traditional agroforestry models and cultivation techniques that can aid in the amelioration of jhum lands and simultaneously help in soil and moisture conservation. The Zabo or Ruza system of the Chakhesang tribe, alder-based agroforestry and wet terrace paddy cultivation by the Angami tribe, tree-based cultivation of the Konyak tribe in Nagaland, traditional rice farming in Tripura, bun (terrace) by Jaintia and Khasi tribes in Meghalaya, paddy cum fish farming by the Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, and terrace rice cultivation in Sikkim are some prominent examples of traditional farming. These indigenous cultivation techniques in NER are strongly intermingled with the customs, traditions, and livelihood of the local tribes. In this chapter, we attempt to tap the potential of the traditional farming system as an alternative to conventional jhum for soil and water conservation and sustainable soil carbon and nutrient management.