Resource Management and Productivity Enhancement through Agroforestry in the Eastern Hilly Agro-ecosystems of India

Abstract

An unbalanced and unsustainable form of a short cycle jhuming and limited opportunity to expand arable lands and their mechanization on the hill slopes necessitates a greater intervention through agroforestry and horticulture in the North Eastern hills of India. Both will enhance bio-productivity and lead to sustainability in the hills. Recent access to global market for various nonconventional products (edible fruits, herbal aromatics, cosmetics and medicines, spices, etc.) and bamboo, rattans and other palm group of trees of industrial importance being over exploited but less attended by researchers, also provide opportunity to develop agroforestry based land use systems. There are many traditional agroforestry practices existing in this region, which are economically viable but need in depth understanding for agronomic improvements to enlarge area under agroforestry systems. Farmers own innovative approach to plant banana, tapioca on the farm boundary to check soil erosion and growing maize, seasamum and other crops inside the fields in Arunachal Pradesh and thinned pine intercropped with ginger and planting of broom grass at the top and pineapple down the hills in Meghalaya are worth to be noticed. In the last 20 years, a number of research agencies (ICAR, Rubber, Tea and Spice Boards) have contributed significantly to develop and perfect many agroforestry techniques/practices/ systems such as silvipastoral systems, sericulture, tree fodder production systems, aquaforestry and microwatershed approach to develop fodder, fuel and timber production systems, self regenerative forestry, feasibility of rubber and tea plantation at the low hills of Tripura and other states. Besides improvement of jhum fallow through agroforestry and contour hedge intercropping hold a promise to optimise integrated land use capacity. There is a need to encourage product diversification in a unit of land through agroforestry to increase land capacity to produce full potential and linking them to assured .marketing channels by identifying demands and outlets for outputs. In this context, government policy to strengthen land tenure system and other legal aspects in relation to property rights and rights to use will have positive bearing on agroforestry development.