Traditional Farming System of Gond and Other Communities in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve of India

Abstract

The modern system of farming has several advantages, which include increasing quantity of crop production to meet the demand of escalating human population however it has demerits, as well. The use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides that has negatively impacted the human health has now compelled humans to revisit the environmental-friendly traditional system of agriculture. With this concept, the present study deals with documentation and analysis of traditional agricultural system of peasants in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve of India. The cropping season, in the study area, was classified into two major seasons - rabi and kharif. The main cereal raised in rabi season was wheat, followed by pulses such as chickpea and lentil. In kharif season, mainly the farmers raised paddy, followed by soybean, maize, pigeon pea, black gram and sesame. The farmers who had sufficient water for irrigation cultivated black gram twice in a year, from July to October and March to May. The study reports that traditional agriculture system works along with values, cultures, traditions and belief systems of the community, and some of which is crystallized into the institution.