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In the states of north-east India and Western and Eastern Ghats, shifting cultivation (slash and burn) is one of the main causes of soil erosion. The shifting cultivators need to be persuaded to stop the practice of shifting cultivation and should be trained and motivated to adopt terraced farming. A scheme to control shifting cultivation has been launched in the seven states of northeast India. This is a beneficiary oriented programme which aims at the rehabilitation families of thejhumias (shifting cultivators). There is a need to extend this programme to other states of the country and gradually replace this agricultural system by sedentary farming.