Traditional agriculture and resource use under pressure: scope for agroforestry intervention in the Middle Hills of Nepal

The traditional agroforestry systems practised in the Middle Hills of Nepal are described, and the prospects for, and the implications of, improvements to them are examined. The traditional systems are described under the 3 main categories of agroforestry system: agrosilvicultural (systems involving field crops and farmland trees/shrubs, systems involving cash crops and forest trees, and home gardens [normally classified as agrosilvopastoral systems]); silvopastoral (fodder tree orchards, and grazing and browsing in grassland and natural forests); and agrosilvopastoral systems (grazing on cultivated land with trees and shrubs during the winter fallow). The rapid growth of population, extension of arable land on unsuitable slopes, overgrazing of both forest and rangeland, and an increasing demand for forest products to meet the basic needs of the growing population has degraded the environment considerably. The deteriorating conditions are reflected in declining crop yields, severe soil erosion and increasing scarcity of forest produce. The nature of the problems suggests that there is a need for an alternative land use system capable of meeting the basic needs of the people on a sustainable basis and of halting environmental deterioration. Information from elsewhere reveals that agroforestry systems have potential to achieve both these objectives. Studies from different countries are reviewed to determine the applicability of agroforestry land use systems for the Middle Hills. The same 3 main types of system as are used traditionally are considered: agrosilvicultural (alley cropping, the introduction of multipurpose tree species on farmlands as shelterbelts and windbreaks, and tree intercropping); silvopastoral (controlled grazing in afforested land, restoration of rangeland, the establishment of fodder tree orchards, and stall feeding); and agrosilvopastoral (ley farming - the introduction of short term pasture into a cropping cycle, and the introduction of grasses and legumes on terrace risers). Research needs and opportunities are discussed.