Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Highland Farming in Western Himalayas

The impact of green revolution has run out of steam in most parts of the world for the lowland areas, whereas, it has hardly touched the agricultural scenario in the mountains. The Farming Systems in mountains assume greater significance as compared to the lowlands for reasons of fragility of environment. Basically, agriculture is an important component of all farming systems in the mountains and besides economic reasons; self-sustenance is the major driving force. Himachal Pradesh has a total geographical area of 55673 sq.km out of which 11322, 14645, 8901, 782, 2530 and 18164 sq.km is under agriculture, forests, wastelands, water bodies, grasslands and snow cover, respectively according to the latest remote sensing estimates. The state has a population of nearly 6 million and the population density varies from 2 to over 330 in different districts. The figures under various landuses vary according to different surveys/assessments by different agencies. The land under cultivation lies mostly on class IV and beyond lands, which is prone to degradation by agencies of nature in the absence of appropriate management. A case study being conducted in Lahaul Valley, Himachal Pradesh has shown the basic problems experienced by the farmers are: race against time in agricultural operations because of single growing season, farming for self-sustenance, a compulsion, small land holdings/limited arable land, erosion threats to land resource, poor knowledge of production technology, traditional farming methods, female illiteracy and, besides others, heavy dependence on supportlands, forests and rangelands for fuel and fodder. Being an aboriginal area, there have been hardly any large scale scientific interventions in the past from the state agencies/institutions. Lack of land resources database makes it even more difficult for the planners. The case study shows that nearly 85% of cultivated land is under cereal production, which provides low returns to the farmers. The farmers are however, compelled to grow cereals for meeting fodder requirements of livestock. High value crops like fruits, vegetables, pluses and medicinal plants occupy only less then 15% of the area. Average land holding size is only 1.2 ha for 62% of the farmers. The valley is closed to the outside world during winter (October-March) as heavy snowfall cuts off the only road connection through Rohtang Pass. The farmers are left with only one crop-growing season to meet their requirement. This leads to increased pressure on land resource and also affects its health as well as sustainability. Effective land-use planning under the existing conditions calls for a holistic approach for the management of natural resources for sustainability. Findings of case study and its implications in scientific landuse planning are also reported.