Ecological Issues
Chitemene is an ecologically sound system in a situation where land pressure from population demands are low and ample woodland is present. In the past, when land and population were respectively plentiful and sparse, chitemene fields had ample time to lay fallow and recover before farmers returned to clear the field again. However, in contemporary Zambia, farmers switching from traditional crop rotations to monoculture of maize continue to practice chitemene. Unfortunately, the nutrient demands of maize tend to exhaust soils faster than traditional crops such as sorghum or millet, and the desire to sell maize as a commodity expedites the expansion of chitemene clearings.
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