Abstract

Livestock is one of the most important and dynamic components of mountain farming systems and their linkage with forest and agro-system are the very basis of sustainability of mountain agriculture. But, livestock economy in the mountain region is suffering a set- back due to poor production, which is mainly contributed by inadequacy of quality fodder and pitiable condition of forests and grazing land. In Uttaranchal, permanent pasture and other grazing land is only 4.04%, while the huge livestock population is multiplying at a high rate and the resultant grazing pressure on grazing lands is increasing.A study was conducted in two blocks namely Ramgarh (29° 26' 60'' N and 79° 32' 60'' E) and Dhari (29° 52' 47'' N and 78° 38' 15'' E) in Nainital district of Kumaon hills to present a scenario of livestock grazing in the region. Tools of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) namely resource map, matrix ranking and seasonal calendar were used to collect the information. It was found that most of the hill livestock except buffalo and crossbred cattle are still maintained on extensive grazing. Due to uncontrolled grazing, the quality of grasses has decreased and people are now shifting towards stall feeding and reducing the numbers of livestock unit. So, the grazing should be regulated as regards the time and place, and also the number of animals permitted. Moreover, the quality of the forest grasses can be improved by the intervention of people involved in the managing of the forest through plantation of quality grasses.

Key words: Livestock, hill, grazing, participatory rural appraisal.