For decades, shifting cultivation or jhum, has been framed as an ecological liability. Government narratives, development programmes, and sections of academic discourse have consistently positioned it as a driver of deforestation, soil degradation, and air pollution.
Government officials, scientists and farmers gathered at MAMETI, Upper Shillong on Tuesday to outline a strategy for natural farming, reporting 79 clusters, more than 9,100 enrolled farmers and a state target of 100,000 hectares under organic cultivation by 2028.
