Smallholder Dairy: In Mixed Farming Systems of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas

Mountain resources directly contribute to the livelihoods of several hundred million people living in mountain areas and indirectly support the livelihoods of several billion people living downstream. The state and use of mountain resources constitute an issue that affects us all, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is at the forefront of efforts to help promote the development of an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem and to improve the living standards of mountain populations. The great majority of people in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) region depend upon agriculture as their main source of livelihood; most are mountain and hill farmers with marginal or small farms covering less than two hectares of cultivated land. Thus the well-being of mountain people is to a great extent determined by the state of mountain agriculture – and the potential for economic improvement by the ability to produce products for market. Livestock are an integral, but often under appreciated, component of farming in the mountains and highlands. They provide food, wool, and hides for people and draught power and fertiliser for the cultivation of crops. In the past, and still in remote areas, livestock have been the key to ensuring that farmers can practise a self-sustaining and self-sufficient form of agriculture in reasonable harmony with the natural resources of the mountains. In recent years, however, livestock have begun to play a somewhat different role, as important agents in the transformation from traditional subsistence-based farming to a more market-oriented approach. Market-oriented dairy farming by smallholders practising a mixed crop-livestock form of farming, can be a key to economic development in many areas of the HKH, particularly in peri-urban areas with good access to markets. ICIMOD, supported by FAO, initiated studies of livestock in mixed farming systems some years ago, and supported by ILRI has now followed on with this detailed study of smallholder dairy farming in high pressure areas of the region.