An ethnoecological approach to shifting agriculture

To dispel some of the commonly held beliefs that swidden agriculture is a wasteful, gluttonous, simple/uncomplicated, and destructive endeavor, this paper looks at shifting cultivation in the Philippines. Looking at the Yagaw Hanunoo of southeastern Mindanoa Island and their practice of swidden agriculture is the primary focus of this paper. The author includes evidence of complex labor intense fields, use of secondary forest, controlled burning, multi-cropping, and highly efficient yield to labor outputs.