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Dongar Cultivation in Odisha

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Dongar Cultivation

In Odisha’s Rayagada district, the Kondh tribal community has for generations practised Dongar — a traditional mixed cropping system on upland hill slopes. Similar to Bewar in Madhya Pradesh, Dongar involves the cultivation of millets, pulses, and oilseeds together, ensuring food security, soil fertility, and climate resilience.

However, this ancient and sustainable system is now under severe threat due to the spread of eucalyptus monoculture, promoted by paper mill-linked entities.

Features of Dongar Cultivation

  1. Location & Terrain:
    1.  Practised on upland hill slopes (dongars) of Odisha’s Rayagada district by the Kondh tribal community, often on uneven, rainfed, and non-irrigated lands.
  2. Mixed Cropping System:
    1.  Dongar follows a diverse, mixed-cropping pattern where millets, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables are grown together, ensuring crop diversity and resilience.
  3. Organic & Low-Input Farming:
    1.  It depends entirely on traditional seeds, natural manure, and organic inputs.
  4. No Ploughing or Irrigation:
    1.  Dongar cultivation involves minimum soil disturbance using small hand tools and relies on rainfed moisture.
  5. Community-Based Practice:
    1. Rooted in tribal traditions, it involves collective labour sharing, seed exchange, and community participation, strengthening social cohesion.
  6. Ecologically Sustainable:
    1.  The system enhances soil fertility, moisture retention, and biodiversity, and coexists with forest ecosystems.
  7. Food & Nutritional Diversity:
    1.  Provides millets, pulses, oilseeds, etc. ensuring food and nutritional security for tribal households.
  8. Resilient to Climate Change:
    1. Mixed cropping and low-input nature make it climate-resilient, protecting against erratic rainfall and droughts.

Emerging Threat: Spread of Monoculture

  • Eucalyptus plantations, promoted by paper mills through land leasing, are replacing traditional Dongar cultivation.
  • Initially confined to lowlands, eucalyptus has now spread to midlands and uplands, causing ecological imbalance.These plantations are degrading soil, reducing uncultivated foods like tubers, and driving away birds
  • Farmers lease out land for meagre returns (₹1,500–₹3,000 per acre) and lose access to food sources.
  • The shift is driven by commercial incentives, low maintenance, and easy loan availability.

Ecological and Socio-Economic Impacts of Eucalyptus Monoculture

  • Monoculture is leading to soil infertility and water shortage.
  • Loss of Biodiversity: Disappearance of tubers, birds, and natural vegetation from upland areas.
  • Nutritional Insecurity: Reduced cultivation of traditional food crops → greater dependence on PDS rice and market food, leading to malnutrition.
    •  Eucalyptus grown for supply to paper mills poses a direct threat to the cultivation of millets grown on dongar lands, especially in the midlands. 
  • Cultural Disruption: Erosion of traditional seed exchange and labour-sharing practices central to tribal social life.

Millets in Danger

  • The year 2023 was celebrated globally as the International Year of Millets to promote these climate-resilient and nutrient-rich ancient grains. However, in Odisha’s Rayagada district, the cultivation of millets in the midland and upland regions is rapidly declining as monoculture practices—particularly eucalyptus and Bt cotton—are replacing traditional mixed cropping systems.
  • Nutrient-rich millets, once vital to local diets and climate resilience, are being neglected for short-term commercial gain.
  • Declining millet cultivation threatens food sovereignty and tribal nutrition security

Role of Non-Profits and Revival Efforts

Non-profit Living Farms is working in around 200 villages of Rayagada to revive Dongar cultivation among the Talia and Kutia Kondhs.

  • Key initiatives include:
    • Awareness drives on food security, seed conservation and preservation of ancient food systems. 
    • Campaigns discouraging eucalyptus and cotton monocultures.
    • Empowering women and elders to revive traditional organic methods.

Benefits of Dongar Cultivation

  • Climate Resilience:
    • The mixed cropping system of millets, pulses, and oilseeds in Dongar farming enhances resilience to erratic rainfall, droughts, and temperature fluctuations.
  • Biodiversity Conservation:
    •  Dongar promotes ecological diversity by maintaining multiple crop species, supporting pollinators, soil organisms, and local flora and fauna.
  • Nutritional Security:
    •  It provides a balanced diet through diverse food sources — millets (carbohydrates), pulses (protein), and oilseeds (fats) — ensuring food and nutritional self-sufficiency for tribal communities.
  • Low Input and Sustainable:
    •  Dongar cultivation depends on traditional seeds and natural manure, minimizing dependence on chemical fertilizers and external inputs..
  • Supports Food Sovereignty:
    •  Encourages self-reliance and independence from external markets, preserving local food systems and traditional diets.
  • Ecological Balance:
    •  Dongar landscapes support natural ecosystems, attract birds and pollinators, and help maintain the region’s overall environmental stability.

Dongar cultivation stands as a living example of indigenous ecological wisdom rooted in sustainability, diversity, and community resilience. Practised by the Kondh tribes of Odisha, it reflects a deep understanding of the local terrain, climate, and natural cycles—producing food security without degrading the environment. At a time when commercial monocultures like eucalyptus and Bt cotton threaten biodiversity and soil health, Dongar offers a sustainable alternative that aligns with climate-resilient agriculture and food sovereignty. Reviving and protecting this traditional system is not merely about preserving a farming method; it is about safeguarding a way of life, a culture of coexistence with nature, and an invaluable model for sustainable development in the age of ecological crisis.

FAQs

Q1. What is Dongar cultivation?

Dongar cultivation is a traditional mixed cropping system practised by the Kondh tribal community in Odisha’s Rayagada district. It involves growing millets, pulses, and oilseeds together on upland hill slopes, ensuring soil fertility, biodiversity, and food security.

Q2. Why is Dongar cultivation important for the environment?

Dongar cultivation promotes ecological balance by maintaining soil fertility, conserving water, and supporting biodiversity. Its organic and low-input nature makes it a climate-resilient and sustainable farming system ideal for fragile hill ecosystems.

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