Livestock scenario and socio-economic profile of an alpine area in Western Himalaya

The study was undertaken to understand the socio-economic profile and livestock rearing activities, forage resources and problems related to livestock rearing activities in Khanzar, Shukta and Chhaling villages of Udaipur block in Lauhal and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and key informant interviews. There has been a sharp increase (40.62%) in population in the state from 1981 census to 2001 census; however, there is a slight decline in population of Lahaul and Spiti. Among livestock kept by the farmers, sheep ranked highest (74.62%) followed by cattle (12.07%), other animals (7.42) and goats (5.89%). Average number of sheep and goats per household were 12.17 and 2.17, respectively, while cattle and horses were 2.62 and 0.13 per household. Semi_migratory system of livestock rearing is prevalent in the area. Leaves of seabuckthorn are fed to animals from Sep to Nov. Twigs of willow and Betula sp. trees are fed to the animals from Mar to April, during alternate years only. Stall feeding is done from Oct to May and hay made from the weeds, grasses and tree leaves of willow, Betula sp. and seabuckthorn leaves are fed to the animals. Women folk have to spend most of the time in tending the animals, fodder collection, grazing of animals and the distance travelled for fodder collection and distance travelled for animal grazing is much higher as compared to men in all the 3 villages. An individual woman spends about 1.95, 2.08, and 1.97 h/day as compared to 0.19, 0.06 and 0.14 h/day for fodder collection by men in Chhaling, Shukto and Khanzar villages, respectively. Festuca gigantea dominated the pastureland of the area at higher altitude, while Sibbaldia, Phleum, Artemisia and Potentila were the other edible species observed. About 27, 24 and 20% of the farmers indicated that poor herbage production, poor grassland management and overgrazing of the pastures are most significant problems in livestock rearing activities. Poor fodder availability, lack of communication, education and medical facilities were some of the main problems revealed by the farmers and farmwomen through focused group discussions.