Abstract
The Garhwal Himalaya represents a traditional agricultural society where more than 74% population largely depends on the cultivation of subsistence cereal crops to run their livelihood. Over the time, with the increase in human population and decrease in per capita land, the traditional subsistence agriculture could not fulfill food requirement. This was resulted in food insecurity and thus agricultural diversification began with the cultivation of cash crops - fruits, off-season vegetables and also of medicinal plants. Although, agro-ecological condition favours diversification of crops and agro-biodiversity is very high in the Garhwal region, the pace of diversifying cash crops for commercialization is tremendously low. Diversity in crops varies spatially - horizontal and vertical and temporally - rabi and kharif seasons. The highlands characterize high agro-biodiversity in comparison to the mid-slopes and the valley regions. Crop diversification index (CDI) of cereals and cash crops was calculated separately from the secondary dada. A case study of six villages was done to calculate cost-benefit analysis of cereals and cash crops. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of diversification – cereals as well as cash crops for livelihood sustainability in the Garhwal Himalaya.
Highlights
The Garhwal Himalaya represents a traditional agricultural society where more than 74% population largely depends on the cultivation of subsistence cereal crops to run their livelihood
With the increase in human population and decrease in per capita land, the traditional subsistence agriculture could not fulfill food requirement. This was resulted in food insecurity and agricultural diversification began with the cultivation of cash crops - fruits, off-season vegetables and of medicinal plants
The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of diversification – cereals as well as cash crops for livelihood sustainability in the Garhwal Himalaya
Summary
The Garhwal Himalaya is located in the Indian Central Himalayan Region (ICHR), a part of Uttarakhand Himalaya, constitutes one of the most fragile ecosystems. The major perennial rivers - the Ganges, Yamuna, and their numerous tributaries originate from this part of the Himalaya It is a division of Uttarakhand State, comprises seven districts - Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Dehradun, and Haridwar. The landscape features provide a greater opportunity to the agricultural diversification that is prominently essential for sustainable livelihood. It leads for cultivation of varieties of cash crops including fruits of various kinds in all altitudinal zones. District wise data on the area and the production of cereals and cash crops were gathered from secondary sources of the government records. Households involving in growing cash crops were interview and semi-structured questionnaire was prepared for interview
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