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TABLE 2.8.Extent of Chena Cultivation, 1976/77

Note: Settlements 1 - 3 are villages, and settlements 4 and 5 are colonization schemes. In the old colonization schemes Iwhich are 15 or more years old) many families have gained experience in chena cultivation and adopted it successfully. In the relatively new colonization schemes such as in Rajangane most settlers who have arrived recently are still unaccustomed to the practice of chena cultivation. Population pressure on land is also higher in the old colonization schemes, and this forces more people to engage in chena cultivation.

3) In the villages the development of irrigated paddy lands under once abandoned or derelict tanks had been almost completed by the late 1960s.

4) The price increases of food and essential items that were in short supply due to import restrictions and inadequate local production paralysed the hitherto almost self-contained subsistence village economy by compelling the people to produce more so as to enable them to pay for their bare minimum
necessities such as clothes, utensils, equipment, tools, housing materials, and fertilizer. Though the price of locally grown paddy had become attractive,35 irrigated paddy lands expansion was essentially slow and, therefore, people were compelled to pursue chena cultivation to balance their budgets.

Such new trends in national and village economies changed the objective of chena cultivation from that of a crop insurance against possible losses of irrigated paddy, to that of a profit-making venture, at least to some extent. It also became a less supplementary and more fundamental form of agriculture.

Both villagers and colonists keenly pursued chena cultivation in the early 1970s. The income from chenas was so attractive as the price of crop grown in them increased that some peasants opened up two chenas; one during the main cultivation season from September to February and another during the second cultivation season from about late March or early April to August. The latter was mostly to cultivate sesame. Sometimes a peasant, failing to secure a sufficiently large patch of jungle in one place to clear a single stretch of chena of his desired extent, tried to open up two chenas in two different locations. Scramble for chena land was so intense that owing to the past haphazard clearing of the village forest, the remaining jungle to be cleared became limited and patchy, and clearing a single stretch of 2 to 3 acres (0.8-1.2 ha) was often difficult. Hence only in exceptionally rare cases were there individually owned chenas of 5 acres (2 ha) or more during the early 1970s. Most of the chenas were 1 to 2 acres (0.40.8 ha) in extent.

In most small villages almost every family engaged in chena cultivation and in some villages the sum total extent of chenas in a single year exceeded the total paddy extent in the village (Table 2.7). For instance in 1973 Galewewa had 72 acres (29.3 ha) of irrigated paddy-54 acres (22 ha) in the Old Fields and 18 acres (7.3 ha) in Field Blocks-but the total extent of chenas cultivated by its residents amounted to 117 (46.8 ha) acres. The rush for chena cultivation was so great in 1973 that some observers claimed that the delay in sowing irrigated paddy fields in most villages in the north central region of the Dry Zone in that year was largely due to increased concentration on chena cultivation.

The concern for chena cultivation remained much the same in 1976/77 in most settlements in the Dry Zone, and the average size of a chena in 1976/77 remained much the same as that in 1972/73 (Tables 2.7 and 2.8). This inevitably leads us to conclude that when the number of persons engaged in chena cultivation has not reduced and the limits of the village forest are fixed, it is only through the shortening of the fallow period that the average size of chena can remain almost unchanged. Field investigations in the study sites showed that scrub land barely five years in fallow was being cleared for chenas in 1978.

Like the policy conflict that the Land Commissioner's Department faced in respect to the expansion of paddy lands, the interest of the Forest Department in conserving forest land conflicts with the interest of the "grow-morefood" drive of the central government. As long as the drive for food production is keenly pursued, the forest conservation laws almost remain a dead letter, while the forests dwindle and deteriorate rapidly under the axe of the chena cultivator.

Chena cultivators in the Dry Zone today comprise three categories -villagers, old colonists, and the recent "intruders" who have come to the Dry Zone primarily for the purpose of making a quick fortune out of chena cultivation. Shifting cultivation systems, though often considered primitive, have evolved unique methods of forest clearing throughout the tropical world (Gourou 1953). Most methods evolved through centuries of experience and have developed systems that reduce the damage to the forest and soil. Those experienced in this form of cultivation, such as the traditional villagers in the Dry Zone, cause less damage to either forest or soil, a fact which has been often ignored by officials and most scholars of this oldest form of agriculture. Those who are inexperienced in chena cultivation such as the "intruders" mentioned above seem to cause the greatest damage.

A traditional villager with experience in chena cultivation attempts to select the land best suited for the crops that he has decided to cultivate. When the choice of land is restricted, he selects the crops that suit the physical and soil variations of the land available to him to practice chena cultivation. He will decide to sow highland paddy in the flat bottoms of small depressions which are poorly drained during seasonal rains; he will allocate well drained slopes for less-water-loving kurakkan (E/eusine coracana) and mustard; and he will set aside ant hills to plant his much needed vegetables. If the chena is on the whole a steep land, he will pile rows of logs roughly parallel to each other along the contour with suitable space between each row to protect the newly burnt loose soil from eroding under heavy rains. This technique also helps more rain water to percolate into the sub-soils so that some moisture in the soil is retained for a longer period of time, thus facilitating crop growth.

Such ingenious methods are also adopted in jungle clearings. First, the traditional cultivator clears the undergrowth by slashing the small plants 3 or 4 cm above the ground (mu/ val/ keteema) so that later the standing stems will be burnt down to the root level. Then he slashes the tall bushes roughly 30 to 60 cm above eye level (kanu mandu payeema). The important thing is that, as far as possible, he abstains from felling the mature trees (gus kepeema) or even the matured bush stems by cutting them near ground level. Instead, the secondary and tertiary branches of such trees are lopped off (gus kandubema), leaving the tree trunks and parts of branches above. Thus, he does not slash every plant and tree before him at one convenient level near the ground. This slashing at different profiles enables a rapid regrowth of lopped branches until the regrowth of the tall bushes and finally the saplings from near ground level catches up.

Unfortunately such simple but far-sighted techniques seem to be unknown to or have been ignored by those who are relatively new to this mode of cultivation. They are mostly the new "intruders" or the recent colonists in the Dry Zone. In clearing forest for chenas they generally slash most trees 30 to 60 cm above ground level, probably to avoid the inconvenience and risk of climbing trees and tall bushes to lop off their branches at varying heights, and also to extract more timber.

The damage caused to forest under the two systems of forest clearing for chena cultivation varies considerably. It is to be clearly seen in the forest regrowth rate during the fallow period. In the abandoned chenas cleared under the former system, the spared tall trees enable a rapid regrowth of tree canopies as do the bushes pruned roughly above eye level, while the saplings of plants and small bushes slashed near ground level increase plant density as they grow. In the abandoned chenas cleared under the latter system, where almost all the plants and trees were cut near ground level, all the vegetation grows up slowly in the form of "brushwood." Such sites remain treeless until the saplings from near ground level grow into fully matured trees, which may take well over 15 years.

The system of tree cutting at different profiles is undoubtedly superior to the newly emerging ruinous method of tree cutting near ground level. However, it is baffling to see that the village youths, to whom the former method is well known, are keenly pursuing the latter system of jungle clearing.

Several negative results of the destruction of village forest are becoming increasingly evident in many parts of the Dry Zone:

1) The forest that surrounded the village in the past acted as an important natural wind shelter, notably against the thirsty dry winds. The consequences of the destruction of forest are fourfold. First, the unobstructed blowing of the dry winds accelerates the surface evaporation. Second, more frequent damage is caused to village dwellings and garden crops. Third, the drying up of streams and water holes is faster, a fact which the farmers repeatedly pointed out during field investigations. Finally, there is an increase in the dust density in the surface air, notably during the dry season from May to September.

2) Newly burnt chena clearings accelerate soil erosion. The higher the gradient of slope the greater the erosion, whereby the fertility of the chena is rapidly decreased; this would not only have an impact on the crops grown in it but also on the subsequent forest regeneration. Some abandoned chenas observed in Katupatwewa, Galewewa, Etaweeragollewa, and Wilachchiya showed signs of slow plant growth. In some chena sites, after three years of continuous fallow there were still large patches without grass cover, and in some places
plant growth shows the effects of impoverished or alkaline soils. After completing detailed studies on the Dry Zone, soil scientists warned about the presence of alkalinity in the B and C horizons of reddish brown earth and saltiness even in alluvial soils (Moorman and Panabakke 1961). In these patches of retarded vegetation in abandoned chenas, alkalinity has appeared due to soil erosion. Such areas may well spread in the course of time. Similar areal expansions of sandy soil belts seem to be in progress in certain parts of the Arid Zone (closer to the seacoast) in the northwestern littoral belt, notably from the north of Mannar to Elephant Pass.

3) Wildlife has been already threatened; this in turn has its effects on man. First, the loss of game animals has reduced the cheap source of protein supply. It also has changed many food habits of the people. Two decades ago eating beef was a social and religious taboo in a Sinhala Buddhist Dry Zone village. Killing a tortoise# for its flesh or a monkey for its meat was a shameful deed. Today beef has come to be openly accepted as a part of the normal meal, while the latter two sources of protein are delicacies sought after discreetly but widely. As a result, these creatures are on the verge of extinction today. Some claim that these new proteins are being sought following the increased alcoholism in the DrY Zone villages, but it seems more plausible to argue that the switch over to these new proteins is due to the reduction in variety and numbers of game animals. Second, there is increasing damage to irrigated paddy from wild elephants, which have been frequently forced to be on the move seeking safety because of the loss of their natural habitat due to increased forest clearings.

4) The loss of draught animals due to increased slaughter of cattle for beef 40 prevents timely land preparation, which, in turn exposes the irrigated paddy crop to the drought hazard during its maturity, more frequently now than before. Loss of cattle compels the farmers to use tractors to plough their paddy plots at prohibitive costs. Above all, deep tractor ploughing in paddy fields where the surface alluvial soil cover is thin has lifted the impoverished (alkaline or saline) sub-surface soils to the surface.

5) Reckless jungle clearing is also producing a serious shortage of timber and firewood. In all five study sites peopled were complaining of the scarcity not only of the valuable timber required in house construction, but also of simple necessities such as fencing pales and creepers for basket weaving.

Detailed studies are necessary to determine whether there are signs of deterioration in the quality of water stored in the reservoirs and of the groundwater due to man's increasing interference with the forest. If the quality of water is deteriorating, it may well have repercussions on the irrigated crops and on the general life of the people whose domestic water requirements come mainly from the tanks.

FIG. 2.7. Human Activities and the Potential for Desertification in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka: A Model

One thing is certain. The biotic changes and their consequences outlined above are seriously disturbing the balance in the ecosystem. For instance, the feeling of the people that aridity is increasing is justified, not because there is definite evidence of rainfall decline (apart from periodic droughts) but because it has become increasingly difficult to maximize the use of rain water received owing to the deterioration of the ecology in the Dry Zone. This is well demonstrated not during the years of normal rainfall but during the periodic droughts.

Farmersi' Percaption of Chena Cultivation and Deterioration of Forest

Destruction of the forest through keenly pursued chena cultivation is central to the problem of emerging desertification in some parts of the Dry Zone (Fig. 2.7). The sensitivity of the farmers to these emerging desert-like conditions could be seen in their attitudes towards chena cultivation. Field investigations showed that farmers are reasonably aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this mode of agriculture. They are against the imposition of a complete ban on chena cultivation but agree that there is a need to restrict it. Some of them even look out for alternatives to chena cultivation, just in case the practice is ever prohibited by the government for a specific period of time.

Advantages of Chena Cultivation: Farmers' Views

As many as 20 advantages repeatedly stated were recorded during the time of the field survey. Nearly half of the informants stated 2 or more advantages each; and some stated as many as 5. Most of these advantages cited, though they vary slightly from one to another, can be very broadly grouped into five categories (Table 2.9)

The data in Tabie 2.9 show that the practice of chena cultivation as a form of crop insurance is still considered the main advantage (category 4). It is closely followed by category 3, which emphasizes the advantage of cultivating more remunerative subsidiary food crops. The traditional villagers who know the art of chena cultivation better than the others are more confident about the low capital and management costs of chena cultivation (category 1). The supplementary nature of the chena cultivation is also better understood by the villagers than the colonists (category 5). To the colonists chena cultivation is a relatively new experience. Out of 64 answers (16.9 per cent) categorized as "others," 62 answers (16.4 per cent) came from the recently arrived settlers in the two colonization schemes- Wilachchiya and Rajangane. Most of these informants came from the Wet Zone recently and are not yet sufficiently accustomed to chena cultivation to see its advantages clearly.

TABLE 2.9. Advantages of Chena Cultivation

a.These answers were given by 378 informants consisting of 154 informants in 3 villages and 224 informants in 2 colonization schemes. As most informants gave more than one response, the total exceeds 100 per cent.

b. Most of the answers in this category are either superficial or vague such as "It is good," "It is necessary," "It enables us to grow highland crops," etc. As such answers were not adequately penetrating they are not included in the five main categories.

TABLE 2.10. Disadvantages of Chena Cultivation

Note: These answers were provided by 378 informants. As most informants gave more than one response, the total exceeds 100 per cent.

Disadvantages of Chena Cultivation: Farmers' Views

About 44 per cent of the informants stated either that they are unable to see disadvantages or that there are no disadvantages in chena cultivation. However, almost an equal percentage (43 per cent) of informants mentioned 2 or more disadvantages, and about 13 per cent cited at least 1 disadvantage of this agricultural practice. It is significant to note that as many as 19 disadvantages were repeatedly mentioned by the informants. Here again, the cited disadvantages, though varying slightly from one another, could be grouped into four broad categories (Table 2.10).

The immediate consequences of the destruction of the forest and the unexpected reduction of yield (categories 1 and 3 respectively) are disadvantages known to many people. Destruction of the forest seems to be of greater concern to the villagers than to the colonists. Conversely, the unexpected reduction of yield due to vagaries of rainfall seems to worry the colonists more than the villagers. This difference seems to result from the difference in strategy adopted by the villagers and colonists.

The traditional villager grows a variety of crops in a mixture where some crops have higher soil moisture requirements, while others are drought resistant. This is the safest strategy for gambling with the uncertainties arising from rainfall variability. However it rains, some crop will result. Still, most villagers view chena cultivation as a crop insurance and a source to supplement their food. To most colonists it is more a commercial venture than a supplementary source of food or a crop insurance. Hence, they are inclined to grow a limited number of high-priced crops and sometimes a single crop, more with the market in mind than food. Such a limited range of crops also reduces the range of adaptability to extremes of rainfall. In this situation, it is often a matter of extreme results -complete crop loss or bumper harvest-with a greater risk element.

Though a relatively small number of answers centered on the indirect consequences of the destruction of forest (category 2), most of them indicate that farmers are becoming increasingly concerned about the deterioration of their physical environment. Among the long-term effects of forest clearing mentioned were deterioration of groundwater, which the farmers have experienced as a general fall in water levels in their garden wells, a drying up of springs, and an increasing aridity. Nearly 20 informants in villages warned that the destruction of forest could soon produce desert conditions in their villages.

About 19 per cent of the answers received were from people who were unable to see disadvantages in chena cultivation. TheY were mostly the recently arrived settlers in the colonization schemes, relatively inexperienced in this mode of agriculture. Another 25 per cent of the respondents simply ended up by saying that there was no disadvantage in chena cultivation. It is rather difficult to believe from the latter category of answers that people see no disadvantage in the practice. The reality is that most of these informants have either too little or no irrigated paddy lands of their own and almost entirely depend on chena cultivation. Hence, it is to be expected that even if they see disadvantages in chena cultivation they would not openly admit them.

The peasants are reasonably well aware of the negative aspects of the destruction of forest. Yet, because of certain advantages of chena cultivation, deforestation is being continued at an accelerated pace. The imposition of a total ban on chena cultivation in order to prevent the destruction of forest would be a politically sensitive action because such a move would adversely affect a large segment of the population immediately. But chena cultivation cannot go on indefinitely without control, and an early restriction of it is imminent, if not a total prohibition for a specific period of time.

Farmers' Reaction to Prohibition or Restriction of Chena Cultivation

Hitherto, the informants' views on the advantages and disadvantages of forest clearing for chena cultivation were discussed in a mutually exclusive form. Though it throws sufficient light on the farmers' understanding of the merits and demerits of this mode of agriculture, it does not show how they weigh those merits and demerits against each other to reason out why it should or should not be prohibited or restricted. The question asked of the farmers with the latter issue in mind was, "Do you think that it is appropriate to prohibit or restrict chena cultivation ? "" When this question was discussed at length, most of the informants often matched what they thought as advantages and disadvantages against each other and reasoned out why chena cultivation should not be completely banned but rather should be allowed to operate within certain limitations until an alternative is evolved.

Nearly 24 per cent of the informants used two main arguments to stress the need to continue chena cultivation. First, as there are many landless peasants and many more possessing too little irrigated land to support themselves, chena cultivation is necessary. Some of these informants raised the question, "What else could they [landless and near-landless peasants] do other than cultivate chenas even though the forest gets destroyed ? "." Second, those who have homestead gardens cannot grow those crops that are cultivated in chenas because they are too small and already overcrowded with tree crops such as the much needed coconut, jak, and arica nut. Hence, there is no alternative to chena cultivation for the time being. Another 38 per cent of the informants added two more reasons in support of the argument that chena cultivation should not be prohibited. First, it brings great relief to the poorer farmers by providing food earlier than irrigated paddy fields can. Second, because of a variety of cereals, yams, and vegetables grown in traditional chenas, they supplement food during a greater part of the chena cultivation season, unlike the irrigated paddy cultivation which has a longer gestation period and provides a single crop once and for all.

Those who stressed the need to restrict chena cultivation were a minority ( 10 per cent). TheY argued that because of the low capital and maintenance costs, people who have too little or no irrigated lands as well as those who have come recently from the Wet Zone are eager to make a quick fortune in the Dry Zone by keenly pursuing chena cultivation. TheY argued that what was necessary was not an imposition of a total ban on chena cultivation but a strict restriction. This is essential from their own viewpoint because currently there is a tendency to abandon chena sites too quickly-often after a single crop. The reason is that most farmers find it easier to slash and burn a new patch of forest cover than to undertake the arduous task of weeding, bush clearing, and proper recultivation. Because of this rapid site shifting, the forest is destroyed faster than is warranted and is rapidly reduced to an impoverished "brushwood." In addition, haphazard jungle clearing and the failure to erect sufficiently strong fences have made it increasingly difficult to retain the much-needed draught animals in the village. Thus, insofar as widespread chena cultivation threatens livestock keeping, a restriction of chena cultivation is considered by a small segment of the informants.

Not many informants had specific ideas as to what should be the alternative farming practice to chena cultivation. However, the alternatives suggested by about 12 per cent of the informants fall broadly into two categories. The first category of suggestions mostly comes from the peasants who own relatively large irrigated paddy holdings. In their view, chena cultivation is necessary because of the limits imposed on paddy production by irrigation difficulties. If those difficulties are minimized and irrigation water could be assured for two crops of paddy a year (which is often difficult) even with strict water management procedures, then chena cultivation would not be necessary. However, as some would not have sufficient paddy lands they suggest that it would be best to restrict chena cultivation and attempt to grow some of the crops that are now grown in chenas in the marginal paddy lands (in Field Blocks). This would serve a dual purpose-the minimization of forest destruction and the prevention of excessive waste of tank water in field irrigation in marginal paddy lands. The second set of alternatives to chena cultivation was suggested mainly by those who possessed little or no irrigated paddy lands They suggested that once a chena was cleared it should be compulsory for its owner to cultivate it for about three to four years, and before final abandonment it should be planted, to certain official specifications, with valuable trees such as teak. They also expressed the need to provide plants by the government and even a suitable incentive scheme to make the project a success.

Finally, there is a category of people who see no alternative to chena cultivation. Their general view is that they would be compelled to look for work elsewhere for their survival if chena cultivation is prohibited by the government. Almost all the informants in this category are in the colonization schemes.

The foregoing analysis of farmers' perception of chena cultivation and its immediate result-the destruction of forest-indicates that chena cultivators have a considerable understanding of the implications of chena cultivation. Field investigation indicates that these implications are best understood by the traditional villagers who often view chena as an integral part of their environment and the economic system. It was less meaningful for them to talk about chena practice in isolation. On the contrary, to most colonists, chena cultivation is a different form of agriculture from irrigated paddy cultivation and their acquaintance with it is relatively recent.

Apart from the destruction of the forest and its immediate consequences, farmers in both villages and colonization schemes have shown an increasing awareness of the negative aspects of the expansion of irrigated paddy cultivation into the marginal lands. Its consequences, such as the waste of tank irrigation water, destruction of wind-shelter belts, reduction of grazing lands (seasonally}, erosion, impoverishment of soil, and above all, siltation of tank beds, are well known to the traditional villagers and to a lesser extent to the colonists. Almost everyone laments the increasing damage and the emergence of some desert-like conditions, but the irony is that everyone is repeatedly contributing his share to the damage.

Measures Considered Necessary to Mitigate Desertification

The emergence of desert-like conditions is not a dramatic event. It results from a culmination of processes-physical and human processes-that have been going on in the DrY Zone for some time. Sets of factors affecting these processes are VaSt, varied, and highly intra. and interconnected as can be seen in the above analysis. It is often distressing to note that this complexity of the problem is neither understood nor thought to be serious.

A leading Third World politician with a strong interest in rural development once declared that in the race for economic development we (Third World countries) have to run while others (developed countries) walk comfortably ahead. In this "run," developing nations often attempt to take shortcuts which sometimes are more harmful than beneficial. In the case of Sri Lanka, the over-ambitious rapid development (exploitation? ) of the DrY Zone without due regard to its low carrying capacity has been considered the cure for many economic ills in the country, notably during the last three decades. For instance, because of the lack of foreign exchange to import subsidiary food crops in the late 1 1960s and the early 1 1970s, the expansion of chena cultivation to grow such crops was indirectly encouraged through the guaranteed-price schemes and grow-more-food campaigns. The destruction of forest through this chena clearing has created more problems, leading to the emergence of desert-like conditions. This amply demonstrates the immediate dangers in adopting, without careful planning, ad hoc solutions to problems in development. To understand this point further, take the reverse of the case, that is, the sudden prohibition of chena cultivation to protect the vegetation. If a complete ban on chena cultivation were imposed, the forest would begin to recover slowly, may be over two to three decades, but it would create almost instant economic hardship and social chaos among the landless and near-landless peasants. We are led to conclude that adjustments have to be based on a systematic national plan with an overall perspective on the array of problems leading to the deterioration of the DrY Zone environment. It is very important that adequate provision is made,within such an overall national plan for village-level planning to suit the conditions of individual villages and settlements.

This sort of plan needs to adopt a dual strategy-taking short-term and long-term steps in planning and plan implementation. These two types of steps have to be taken locally at the village level, regionally at district levels, and nationally at the central government's planning level. An adequate sequence of planning is also needed.

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