Alley Cropping: An Alternative to Slash and Burn in the Slopelands of the Mizo Hills

Abstract

Population pressure in the Mizo Hills, a small mountainous region in northeast India, has shortened fallow periods of slash-and-burn (S&B) plots substantially, making its practice unsustainable. Conventional farming and modern technology cannot be applied in this remote tropical region due to its topography; hence, most farmers continue practicing S&B on a scale that degrades the environment and reduces biodiversity. Alley cropping is increasingly being used in other similar tropical regions as an alternative to S&B due to benefits such as positive influence on soil properties, its ability to keep nutrients in equilibrium and carbon sequestration. Such grounds make alley cropping a viable alternative to S&B in the Mizo Hills and a ray of hope for a sustainable and sedentary means of farming for Mizo farmers.