Study on Productivity of Jhum Crops and Post-harvest Soil Nutrient Status by Using NPK Briquette

Jhum cultivation (also called slash and burn agriculture, shifting cultivation or Sweden cultivation) is a centuries old agricultural practice of indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). It is closely related with the sociocultural settings of some hill communities (Anonymous, 1997). Shifting cultivation, once a subsistence farming system of mountainous people, has become unsustainable both environmentally and economically, and many Asian countries are replacing the system with permanent agriculture (Rasul and Thapa, 2003). However, it is still being widely practised in hilly areas of Bangladesh (Haque et al., 2016), and considered as the major source of livelihood for tribal people. It has been estimated that about 26,000 households practise shifting cultivation (Jhum) every year, and nearly 143,000 people depend on Jhum for subsistence (Shoaib, 2000). Despite declining productivity, farmers practise Jhum because they feel it is the basis of hill people’s cultural identity (Ahmed et al., 2005. Research on Jhum in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is as old as interest in the study of tribal culture, and dates back to British rule of the Indian subcontinent. Art ic le History RECEIVED in 24th April 2020 RECEIVED in revised form 04th August 2020 ACCEPTED in final form 21st August 2020 Jhum crops, NPK briquette, post-harvest soil analysis