Transitioning shifting cultivation to resilient farming systems in South and South-East Asia

30 June 2021

Over the last 30–40 years, a growing body of research has begun assessing the impacts of government policy and programmes focused on transforming shifting cultivation. This research has documented the emergence of a multiplicity of ‘second generation’ issues, and also, importantly, the innovations adopted by shifting-cultivator communities themselves in bringing about more sustainable transitional change. This body of literature provides excellent resources for designing approaches, developing technologies and practices, and formulating evidence-based policy that can affect equitable and sustainable transitions in shifting cultivation.

In 2018, after several years of partnership between IFAD and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on themes related to nutrition, food security, indigenous peoples, environment and climate change, IFAD approved a grant to ICIMOD to convene an international symposium on Transitioning shifting cultivation to resilient farming systems in South and Southeast Asia (held in Guwahati, India in June 2019) and to prepare a series of knowledge products. The overall goal of the project was to strengthen the resilience of shifting-cultivator communities to climate change and other shocks through effective transition towards economically viable, inclusive, climate-resilient, and nutrition-secure farming systems.