Characteristics

It is characterised by the following: The first is that of rotation of fields rather than crops. The second is clearing by means of fire. The third is that there is little use of draft animal, manuring and capital. Lastly, there are no permanent settlements.
One of its disadvantages is that it requires a lot of free land. Secondly shifting Cultivation contributes almost nothing to the national economy
Thirdly shifting exposes land to soil erosion after slashing and burning.
Fourthly, shifting farmers are not exposed to modern farming methods.
Shifting destroys natural habitats like forests, animals and the natural grasslands.
It is unable to keep pace with the increasing population numbers in terms of food requirements.
There is considerable wastage of valuable timber through clearing and burning forests in the process of establishing cultivable land.
It is a wasteful system in that the land is out of use, i.e., stays under fallow for very long periods of time.
The standards of living of the farmer practising shifting cultivation is always low because the yields drop steeply after three to four years of satisfactory crop production.
It is a system that leads to under employment of the farmer for most of the year and, therefore wastes human resources.
Today the effects of expanding population pressure, consumption patterns and externally created market forces have exposed inherent limitations to shifting cultivation. People have therefore shifted to other intensive methods of agriculture to cater for the needs of the population.