Two Naga women are seen here tending to their jhum field in Mokokchung.
Jhum cultivation is often misperceived as a redundant form of agriculture and criticized for its slash-and-burn practice. However, as Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang recently stated in Jalukie, jhum is a natural farming system rooted in agroforestry, characterized by minimal tillage, no synthetic chemical inputs, and a high degree of ecological balance. It preserves indigenous plant genetic resources and is guided by Indigenous Technological Knowledge (ITK) that is both time-tested and community-driven.