Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which areas of land are deforested and used for a short time. Shifting cultivation is also known as slash and burn agriculture.

Shifting cultivation is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical Africa, parts of southeast Asia and northeast India. These are areas of heavy rainfall and quick regenerating of vegetation. Then they are left to grow back their natural vegetation, while the farmer moves to another area. It is practised in forested areas of the Amazon basin.It is one of the rudimentary forms of cultivation.