Appraisal of Existing Agroforestry Systems in Sujanpur Tehsil of Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh
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Date
2022-12-26
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College of Horticulture and Forestry Neri, Hamirpur (H.P.)
Abstract
The present study entitled “Appraisal of Existing Agroforestry Systems in Sujanpur Tehsil of Hamirpur
District, Himachal Pradesh” was carried out in the year 2021-22. The tehsil is located between 31°83ʹ25"N latitude and
76°50ʹ52"E longitude. To study the socio-economic status and vegetation composition of the land use systems seven
panchayats were selected and from each panchayat two villages were selected. In each village, three farmers of each category
were selected which were divided on the basis of their land holding viz. marginal category (< 1ha), small category (1-2 ha)
and medium category (2-4 ha). Data was collected through field sampling and personal interviews. The study revealed that
five different agroforestry systems were practiced by the farmers in the study area namely; Agrisilviculture (AS),
Agrihorticulture (AH), Agrisilvihorticulture (ASH), Agrisilvipastoral (ASP) and Silvipastoral (SP) were identified. In
medium and small category of farmers all five agroforestry systems were present while in marginal category of farmers
silvipastoral system was absent. The average family size of sampled households was 4.40 individuals per family. The literacy
rate was recorded highest (92.48) in small category of farmers. Wheat, potato, garlic, cauliflower and cabbage were rabi
crops, whereas maize, tomato and turmeric were crops of kharif season. Prominent tree components in agroforestry systems
were Acacia catechu, Grewia optiva, Pinus roxburghii , Bauhinia variegata, Toona ciliata, Morus alba, Ficus religiosa and
Albizia lebbeck found in pastureland and along the bunds of agriculture fields, whereas fruit trees of Mangifera indica, Morus
alba, Litchi chinensis, Psidium guajava and Citrus limon were retained on and around the bunds of the agriculture field. In
pasture, the dominant grass species observed were as follows: Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setiger, Themada anathera,
Panicum maximum and Setaria sphacelata. Irrespective of farmers categories, the highest grand total biomass (23.89 t/ha)
was observed in agrisilvihorticulture system (ASH) and lowest (16.03 t/ha) in agrisilviculture system (AS). Among all the
category of farmers the maximum net returns (₹97,581.20/ha/yr) was reported from agrisilvihorticulture (ASH) and least
(₹5,772.50/ha/yr) from silvipastoral system. Technological gaps identifying the socio-economic and other constraints have
highlighted the inherent weakness of existing AFS types. The most prominent among these constraints includes occurrence
of fragmented landholdings, communication gap between lab to land, ineffective implementation of government sponsored
schemes for the benefits of farming communities. Relevant agroforestry solutions include conducting location specific
diagnostic survey, strengthening of agro-processing facilities, voluntarily adoption of some villages by state agriculture
universities and other related institutions etc. From the above study it was concluded that ASH system type was found to be
the best for economic point of view and was proved more profitable by providing maximum B: C ratio (2.04).