Socio-economic Survey of Existing Agroforestry Systems in Dehra Tehsil of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh
Loading...
Date
2023-05-20
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
College of Horticulture and Forestry Dr YSP UHF, Neri, Hamirpur(H.P.)
Abstract
The present investigation entitled “Socio-economic Survey of Existing Agroforestry Systems in Dehra Tehsil of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh” was carried out in the year 2021-22 with the aim to identify agroforestry system types; estimate their biological yield and economic returns; technological gaps and thereby propose suitable agroforestry solutions. Thirteen gram-panchayats were chosen and from each panchayat, twelve farmers and from each category four farmers were divided on the basis of their land holding viz. marginal category (< 1ha), small category (1-2 ha) and medium category (2-4ha). 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; Agri-silviculture (AS), Agri-horticulture (AH), Agri-silvi- horticulture (ASH), Agri-silvi-pastoral (ASP) and Pastoralsilviculture (PS) were identified. In medium and small category of farmers all five agroforestry systems were present while, in marginal category of farmers pastoralsilviculture system was absent. The average family size of sampled households was 4.66 person per household. The literacy rate was recorded highest (89.22%) in medium category of farmers. Wheat, potato, garlic, cauliflower and cabbage were rabi crops, whereas maize, colocassia, tomato, ginger and turmeric were crops of kharif season. Prominent tree components in agroforestry systems were Acacia catechu, Grewia optiva, Celtis australis, Pinus roxburghii , Bauhinia variegata, Toona ciliata, Morusalba, Ficus roxburghii, Ficus palmata and Albizia lebbeck found in pastureland and along the bunds of agriculture fields, whereas fruit trees of Mangifera indica, Morus alba, Litchi chinensis, Syzygium cumini, Psidium guajava, Citrus limon and Punica granatum 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 (25.11 t/ha) was observed in agri-silvi-horticulture system (ASH) and lowest (12.18 t/ha) in pastoralsilviculture system (PS). Among all the category of farmers the maximum net returns (1,22,024 Rs/ha/yr) was reported from agri-silvi-horticulture (AHS) and least (62,977 Rs. /ha/yr) from Agri-silvi-pastoral 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 disproportionate applications of insecticides/pesticides and fertilizers, 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 is concluded that ASH system type was found to be the best for economic point of view as well as more profitable by providing maximum BC ratio.