Pressure over land in shifting (Citemene) system of land usage: A case of chief Katuta's area of Luwingu district

Abstract

Pressure over land is a common phenomenon especially in agricultural rural areas. This is the case in Chief Katuta's area where citemene cultivation is practised. The aim of the study was to find out the underlying cause of the apparent shortage of agricultural land for citemene cultivation in the area and to investigate the effect of the increasing barter trade on the Kalomboshi Protected Forest, which has been encroached upon.The booming barter trade in agricultural crops and modern consumer goods has been linked to the apparent shortage of cultivation land as well as the clearance of several dense "Mateshi" forests and encroachment on the Protected Kalomboshi Forest. The reason is that the trade has induced people to clear larger and multiple gardens to increase production for the market as soil fertility declines with loss of primary forests.The research has shown that Citemene can be stabilized by mound gardening, the cisebela method, other income-generating ventures and it has been argued that the barter trade should be sustained in order to raise living standards of the local people.It has also been shown that the apparent conflict between agricultural land use and conservation could be resolved if settlements are sited away from the Protected Forest and the management of the forest should involve local people in order to be sustainable.