Livestock Management Under Mountain Farming System

Livestock has traditionally been an integral part of hill farming system in Uttarakhand, and forms an integral part of the rural economy contributing to household income and family nutrition, besides producing much needed biomass and draught power for agricultural operations. Livestock supports agricultural activities and also provides an additional source of income for rural households. For a significant number of these households, especially marginal farmers, livestock is the primary source of income. However, the productivity of milch animals in central and western Himalayan region is low, as the availability of good quality green fodder, especially for milch animals in hilly areas, is a major constraint in augmenting milk production. Apart from the fodder scarcity non-descript animals, traditional feeding practices, non-availability of fundamental infrastructure for animal health, cattle feed, marketing of milk and dairy products makes the animal husbandry practices non- profitable, and causes human, mainly male migration and heavy workloads for their counterparts.

Central Himalayan Livestock Initiative

Himmotthan Approach Towards Livestock Management Under Mountain Farming System

To address these various above socio-economic gaps in the growth of the livestock sector of the state, the Tata Trusts and Himmotthan Society initiated Integrated Fodder and Livestock Development Program in 2008 and culminated in 2014. The project was executed in two phases of three year cycle. The project was up-scaled in 2015, based on the successes and synergy from earlier Phases, which had established joint community (institutional) efforts in fodder cultivation, livestock development and micro-enterprises. Currently the Central Himalayan Livestock Initiative is being implemented in over 650 villages across 10 hilly districts of Uttarakhand and 1 district of Himachal Pradesh. A total of 30 clusters have been taken under the project. The project collaborated with different state departments– the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB), Animal Husbandry Department, Rural Development Department, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and several Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), to address issues in a holistic manner.This initiative has a target of covering 35,000 Households in 700 villages across mountain districts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh by 2020. Currently over 33,000 HHs of 650 villages are involved in different livestock related interventions.