Rangeland and livestock production system in Nepal

Livestock Production system in high hills and Himalayas:

Cattles, Goat, Sheep, Chauries, and Yak were the main animal components raised by the farmers. Migratory pattern of animals follows the transhumance system. Animals graze from the lower altitude rangeland towards higher altitude rangeland depending upon the months and seasons of the year. Most of the chauri herders follow this transhumance practice of livestock management system.

Opportunities and Challenges:

Livestock rearing is the major occupation of the people living in the hills and mountain region of the country. Majority of the people in these areas rear Yaks, Chauries, Cattle, Sheep and Goat for income generation to meet their family needs. The existing rangeland and pastureland and the forest resources are the major animal feed resources. The existing pastureland and rangeland have low productivity due to presence of the dominating weeds/shrubs and under degradation due to high grazing pressure. Thus, there is ample opportunity to increase and expand the pasture improvement and development works in the future.

Opportunities for the pasture and livestock development based on the information from key informants and farmers group discussion summarized as:

Livestock and pasture resources are potential source of income generation through livestock products    such as milk, wool, cheese production, as well the source of tourism and herbal medicines.

Product diversification such as making cheese, ghee, churpi and other related products from yak and chauri milk have great scope in the international markets. Yak cheese is very popular in many countries   like Europe, Australia and America. Yak cheese from Nepal is especially very popular in European country Netherlands. This is linked with the pasture improvement and making availability of    lush of pasture for grazing.

·  Disasters: Natural disaster such as landslides, rainfall, snowing in these areas can adversely affect the productivity and livestock population in the rangelands. 

·   Rangelands in the higher hills and the alpines region are mostly dominated by the unwanted weeds, shrubs and bushes that inhibit the growth and development of the nutritious grasses, and legumes in the pasture.

·     Change in the government policies:

Despite of the fact that indigenous practices, knowledge and strategies are vital to sustainable development of rangeland resources and ecosystems, changes in forest policies and land-tenure can cause detrimental interference to the rangeland management

 Absence of basic information on rangelands:

The basic information such as altitudes, aspects, area, vegetation composition, biomass production, seasonality of growth and utilization is lacking and this in turn have hampered the formulation and implementation of rangeland improvement activities at field level. Similarly, the feed value of the native pastures and browse foliage is also lacking.

 Overgrazing:

Most of the herders keep large number of the animals, the average herd size in migratory system ranges from 200-300 heads of animals comprising 4-6 farmers/households. Large herds are unmanageable and grazing could be fatal. Therefore, this is another example restricting the effective management of rangeland.

Inadequate research and extension:

Research works on native pasture production and management especially in the northern region is inadequate. Awareness programs towards improved forage cultivation practices has been made however, due to shortage pf budget development, implementation of program on larger scale has not occurred. Most of the herders have little access to veterinary services, credit facilities and chilling centers. Farmers and government staff lack proper training in pasture production and livestock management.

Following recommendations have been made with an objective to improve the existing situation of the rangeland in Nepal:

Pasture/vegetation improvement:

• Identification and elimination of unwanted and toxic weeds, shrubs and bushes    from the grazing lands   should be prioritized.
•  Conservation of the potential native vegetation should be practiced by adopting       proper grazing management practices.
•  It is necessary to minimize the grazing pressure on the rangelands.
•   Improvement of the soil integrity and fertility is must for high herbage mass production.
•  Introduction of new potential herbage species in the rangeland without replacing the other key species.

Policy issues:

· Policy formulation on rangeland management and improvement, livestock production and management system with emphasis on Yak, Chauri, Cattles sheep and goat would be more practical to address the pasture productivity increment and utilization issues.
· Conservation of the genetic resources of the rangeland ecosystem for biodiversity conservation.