Chitemene

Chitemene, also spelled citemene, from a ciBemba word meaning place where branches have been cut for a garden, is a system of slash-and-burn agriculture practiced throughout northern Zambia, involving the coppicing or pollarding of standing trees in primary or secondary growth Miombo woodland. It addresses a specific regional challenge: the typical soils are highly weathered oxisols with a pH between 4.0 and 4.5, too acidic for common crops such as maize, finger millet, sorghum and cassava, and the concentrated ash left by burning raises the soil pH enough to make cultivation viable, while the burning also fumigates the soil, eliminates weed seeds and improves soil structure. The effect is temporary, so once the soil pH declines after several years of cultivation, farmers must clear new areas while allowing the previous sites to lie fallow for 20 to 25 years for natural recovery before the cycle repeats.