These sections were selected based on the dominant practice of upland rice farming. The natural vegetation in these communities consists of secondary forest or farm bush with small trees or shrubs as a result of frequent felling of trees for farming. In each Section, a list of farmers practising slash-and-burn agriculture on the uplands was prepared and a total of twenty farmers were randomly selected from the list by balloting. In total, eighty farmers were randomly selected for the study in the four Sections of Nongowa Chiefdom. A semi-structured recording schedule was used as survey instrument to solicit information from the total of eighty farmers who were randomly selected from the four selected sections in the Chiefdom.Data was collected between May and September, 2014 using the designed SRS through direct interviews and recording of information solicited from farmers. Data analysis was done in SPSS.

A semi-structured recording schedule was used as survey instrument to solicit information from the total of eighty farmers who were randomly selected from the four selected sections in the Chiefdom.The instrument was pre-tested to ensure its validity and reliability. Data was collected between May and September, 2014 using the designed SRS through direct interviews and recording of information solicited from farmers. Data analysis was done in SPSS. Although historical evidence seemed to blame shifting cultivation for much of deforestation in the tropics, evidence from this study showed that other competing land uses such as mining, commercial agriculture, logging and charcoal production have a dominant effect in recent times. This finding support the reports of  and that much evidence now exists to show that shifting cultivation is not the main driver of deforestation but commercial agriculture and other drivers are now accountable for most of the recent deforestation in the tropics. In this study, competing land uses such as commercial agriculture or the advent of large-scale investors in agriculture in recent times, as well as investments in mining and timber logging, have restricted farmers to cultivating lands of very short fallow periods .

Further analysis of farmers’ responses revealed that most of the lands that are subjected to shorter fallow periods are those around towns and major roads and the length of fallow period increased with distance from the towns. This corroborates the report of that the fallow period is considerably reduced along major highways. The reasons given for the reduction in fallow periods around settlements were: 1) the proximity to towns and major roads provide easy access to farm lands for the daily activities of farmers and 2) easy access to markets along major roads because vehicles plying the roads stop by to allow passengers buy produce displayed along the roads. Farmers accepted that a long fallow period of about ten or more years is considered adequate for cultivation. This indigenous knowledge of farmers on the length of fallow is in agreement with the finding of that the length of the fallow period should not be less than 10 years for a productive shifting cultivation. Farmers understood the effects of fallow periods on crop production and were able to proedict estimates of the different lengths of fallow period may affect crop yields .Although reported that the fallow period is not a good predictor of yields, farmers in the study area seem to be aware of the yields they will expect by cultivation fallowed land of different ages. For young fallows of between 1 and 4 years, the yields are low.

As age of the bush increases, the expected yield increases. Higher yields are expected for longer fallow periods of 15 – 20 years when farmers expected 12 – 14 bushels of rice for every one bushel planted. Additionally, farmers reported that there are selected rice varieties for use depending on the fallow period. For short or young fallows, farmers planted local or “Pa Kiamp” improved rice varieties. For medium fallow periods, farmers planted Pa Kiamp and ROK3 improved varieties while for long fallow periods,farmers planted NERICA and ROK3. Thus, this study revealed an interesting varietal selection by farmers as an adaptation to the soil fertility constraints posed by shortening of the fallow period.In a report on farmers’ assessment of rice varieties in Northern Sierra Leone, showed that the majority of farmers have selected Pa Kiamp among the improved varieties in addition to their local varieties for upland rice cultivation. The results of this study indicated that Pa Kiamp is also popular among farmers in the Eastern Sierra Leone and the reason for its popularity is due to its ability to grow under the impoverished soil conditions posed by short fallow periods. The majority of farmers in this study reported cultivating land under very short fallow periods , and in the absence of fertilizer application, it is apparent that local rice varieties and Pa Kiamp among the improved varieties have been selected for use. An increasing body of scientific evidence continues to fuel concerns regarding the effects of human activity on climate change.