ABSTRACT
The generally accepted view is that millions of small~cale agriculturists are engaged in shifting cultivation in the uplands, and that all these families shift their fields regularly (M.e. Cruz et al., 1988, 1992; Kummer, 1992c: 32; Fujisaka, 1986; Warner, 1991). According to Warner 'various types of shifting cultivation are currently practised on 30% of the world's exploitable soils', whereas it is estimated that 5% of the world's population is making a living from shifting cultivation (Warner, 1991: 9). Although some generalisations can be made about the agricultural system defined as shifting cultivation, it is less easy to define the people behind the agricultural system in the same generalised terms.
