The previous chapters have broadly covered different aspects of shifting cultivation in Bhutan, including some details on the status of contemporary land use practices in the country and problems associated with them. This background was needed because the problems of shifting cultivation cannot be isolated from overall land use and agricultural development problems prevailing in the country. Chapter 5 gave a proposal for a programme aimed at resolving some of the problems deriving from the extensive practice of shifting cultivation through the gradual replacement of this practice with viable alternatives.
Owing to the need to cover such a wide area, the findings and conclusions pointed out or implied in the earlier discussion have remained vague and indirect. The objective of this study calls for much more focused analysis of land use problems in general, and shifting cultivation in particular. The following discussion presents a more clearly defined analysis to enable the identification of realistic alternatives to the problems presented by montane shifting cultivation.
Four factors have greatly influenced evolution of land use in Bhutan. These are the biophysical setting, population dynamics, the history of land allotment and access to public land, and the level of economic development of the farming community. In addition, several issues are emerging as important influences on the future development of agriculture in the country. The main ones are inefficient land utilization and low production per area, environmental degradation, the difficulties associated with intensification of agriculture and the diversification of rural labour into non-agricultural activities.
It can be concluded from the background information that the principal factor contributing to the evolution of the present land use is Bhutan's particular biophysical setting. Less than one-tenth of the total area of the country is cultivated land. This unfavourable biophysical setting has restricted the expansion of permanently cultivated land and slowed down the elimination of shifting cultivation, which now accounts for one-third of the cultivated area.
The distribution of the prime cultivated land type (wetland or chushing) is highly skewed: 92 percent of it is located in the southern and the western regions of Bhutan. This uneven distribution renders the eastern region more prone to shifting cultivation, for lack of alternatives. The eastern districts have rugged terrain, steep terraces, comparatively less rainfall and the lowest potential for irrigation development. This adverse biophysical setting has led to a situation in which almost 66 percent of the land under shifting cultivation is located in the six eastern districts.
Shifting cultivation practice in the Pema Gatshel district is a representative case, where the biophysical situation has restricted the expansion of sedentary cultivation and the farmers are forced to continue this practice for their subsistence. Almost 79 percent of the gross cultivated land in this district is still under shifting cultivation.
Compared to its neighbours in the Hindukush and Himalayan ranges, Bhutan's population pressure is not significantly threatening the country's landed resources. Owing to low population density, Bhutan has the majority of its land under forest cover (64 percent). For the same reason, however, shifting cultivation is still being practised in 16 out of l 8 districts. Therefore, while population pressure is still not a big threat in Bhutan, population dynamics have played a role in the evolution of the present land use. The demographic pressure caused by the 2 percent population growth rate has been responsible for an 18 percent increase in cultivated land between 1966 and 1983 (FAO, 1986).
The impact of population on land use is more pronounced in the southern region, where 42 percent of the country's population is residing in 17 percent of its geographical area. Almost all the suitable areas in the region have been brought under permanent cultivation and potential for further expansion is limited. Apparently, as a consequence of this scarcity of land, farmers are forced to continue shifting cultivation. This causes a creeping expansion of agriculture into marginal forest land.
Past policies of the government on different aspects of land administration have greatly influenced the evolution of present land use, such as land distribution policy, rights and privileges defining access to public land, land reforms, land tax, land tenure and land use policy.
Before the promulgation of the Land Act in 1979, public land was distributed by officials of the theocratic government to individuals, religious bodies, communities or government organizations (before 1907), by His Majesty in the form of royal gifts (after the establishment of hereditary monarchy in 1907), and by districts, the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Forests to landless families that applied for cultivable land or to any religious body or government organization. During this process, the best land was distributed to the religious institutions and influential persons who served the country during difficult periods, as well as to personalities close to local power. These land distribution practices gave rise to the expansion of rain-fed cropland and shifting cultivation practices at the cost of forest land.
Uncontrolled access to public forest land has facilitated the conversion of forest to shifting cultivation and grazing use. Productive cultivated land was also converted into fruit orchards during the agrarian reform, with the result that tenant farmers were displaced and pushed into less productive marginal forest land. The growth of cash cropping has also triggered the illegal conversion of forest land to grow permanent crops such as cardamon in the south.
The level of economic development greatly influences the evolution of land use. A higher level of economic development normally helps to stabilize the rapid land use changes by absorbing the surplus of rural labour in other forms of off-farm employment. It also restricts the conversion of public land into cultivable land by increasing the production per unit area. However, in Bhutan the rate of economic development has remained low and has had little visible impact on traditional land use such as shifting cultivation.
The concept of appropriate land use for the prudent exploitation of landed resources is fully recognized in the recent development policies of the government. The development initiatives of the last 20 years have underscored the importance of increasing the production per unit area from each land use type. As a result, issues such as inefficient land utilization and low production per unit area are being addressed in the government's new policy documents and in the sectoral studies conducted by international and bilateral agencies.
In light of the information in the previous chapters regarding land use practices in Pema Gatshel, it can be observed that in terms of optimum land use in the case study district, most of the land presently under permanent cultivation would be considered suitable only for forests or pastures. Major conservation work would be required before considering the presently cultivated land to be appropriate for sustained agricultural production.
The field observations and farmer interviews in Pema Gatshel district clearly reveal that absolute crop yields from the cultivated land are in decline, sources of animal feed and fodder are subject to increasing competition, and the forests adjoining the villages are being degraded due to the combined effects of overgrazing and timber extraction. This declining land productivity can be directly linked to the lack of improved resource conservation and utilization practices and the absence of scientific land use planning. Extension programmes for improved technologies in crop husbandry, land husbandry and soil management are still being carried out only on an experimental basis.
There is environmental concern in Bhutan as a result of inappropriate land use and poor land husbandry practices. In spite of this, however, the degree of environmental degradation in Bhutan is not as alarming as its neighbours in the Hindukush and Himalayan ranges, and there is no reason to panic. Contributing factors to this comparatively better natural environment in Bhutan are the low population density and less intensive natural resource utilization (i.e., the predominance of subsistence rather than market farming).
In the absence of adequate infrastructure and institutional arrangements, as is the case in Bhutan and many other countries, intensification of land use based on a land use capability survey is not equivalent to environmental protection. Very often, intensification of land use without adequate supporting infrastructure has resulted in adverse impacts such as depletion of soil fertility due to loss of soil nutrients and substantial soil erosion. In a fragile environment like Pema Gatshel district, where supporting infrastructure is poor, the present land use practices are less damaging than high-intensity crop production practices without management. The present practices rely on natural processes such as nutrient cycling to maintain soil fertility.
Resource management and conservation are key requirements for successful long-term economic growth. In Bhutan, the rate of forest land degradation due to uncontrolled grazing has been documented, as has soil erosion from wetland (chushing) and rain-fed (kamshing) farming. Siltation and other physical resource problems have been reported in several watersheds in the country. Early preventive action leading to appropriate land and water management practices is highly desirable if the mistakes committed by neighbouring countries are to be avoided.
To raise the living standards of farming communities in countries like Bhutan, it is vital that land use practices be improved and upgraded to achieve the necessary goals of conserving forest, soil and water resources and to create opportunities for economic development. This route to prosperity involves releasing marginal land from subsistence agricultural production and reverting it to productive forest or watershed protection, maximizing income from minimum land and labour, and diverting part of the rural labour force into other profitable activities. The study highlighted some of the difficulties associated with these goals.
Policies aimed at replacing extensive subsistence agriculture with intensive agriculture tend to ignore the real needs of small farmers. Agricultural development programmes under such policies have a tendency to concentrate on bigger farms and those in accessible areas. Bhutan's farming communities, like those in most countries, are made up predominantly of small farmers. The majority of these are located in remote and hard to reach areas. The well-being of this majority of farmers can be better served by pursuing a simple approach that increases labour productivity and farm output.
The chances for an immediate change to intensive cultivation practices in the isolated rural areas of Bhutan are very small. The prerequisites for this transformation are many, including appropriate technólogy, adequate financial resources at farm level, marketing infrastructure, inputs, extension, education and training, and a progressive attitude on the part of the farmers. In a biophysical setting like that of Pema Gatshel, intensification of agriculture will also demand higher inputs of labour, since mechanization has only marginal scope at present.
Intensive agriculture does not necessarily result in the release of marginal lands. In the absence of appropriate land use and equitable land tenure policies, it may push poorer sections of the farming community off the newly profitable agricultural land and into more marginal areas.
Despite these constraints, however, intensive cultivation practices cannot be ruled out as a long-term goal to improve land use practices in countries like Bhutan. Land is a primary resource of the country, and increased income flows from land-based activities are both possible and desirable. Maximum cash flow may not necessarily be achieved through crop cultivation: animal husbandry and forestry may provide better cash flows in many parts of Bhutan. A National Land Use Survey, such as the one being implemented in Bhutan at present, is a prerequisite to determine the appropriate land use policy.
Existing land use practices in Bhutan are very labour-intensive and are absorbing the bulk of the rural work force. Based on the analysis of the situation in Pema Gatshel district, some observations can be made on this subject.
The farming community in the district reported that there is an acute shortage of labour in the villages. Despite the awareness that conservation farming is a prerequisite for sustained agricultural production, farmers have not been able to apply the practices because of labour constraints. However, farm labour is inefficiently utilized: traditional techniques for ploughing, harvesting and post-harvest storage are inefficient. Improvements in these and other land husbandry practices could contribute to labour saving and increased production. A time-and-motion study can be made to find ways to increase the efficiency of labour.
The required household labour contribution for district and local development activities has also been reported by farmers as a significant constraint to adopting more intensive agricultural practices. In addition, at present wage rates, shifting cultivation is economically more rewarding than any available oft-farm employment (see below).
The commonly held view is that shifting cultivation pays back low remuneration when the production per unit area is converted into market value, and that this practice also involves extensive and systematic destruction of the forest and its produce, which constitutes a tremendous loss of valuable resources to the country. Shifting cultivators, this view continues, can never enter into the cash economy since they are isolated from the market and they can hardly build surplus. Thus, shifting cultivators have limited financial resources to invest for increasing productivity, which instead remains low. Therefore, shifting cultivation is an economically inefficient land use practice. This argument is quite appealing, and to some extent cannot be denied. However, the present study in Pema Gatshel district reveals several contradictions.
In this district, it was calculated that a high altitude shifting cultivator harvests a crop worth the equivalent of a net daily wage amounting to Nu. 26.50, while a lower altitude cultivator harvests the equivalent of about Nu. 25 per day of labour. These returns compare very favourably to the average district wage rate, which varies from Nu. 10 to 20 per day depending on the type of work.
In Pema Gatshel, most families combine sedentary agriculture with shifting cultivation. The result is a complex set of farming systems in which farmers are diversifying production to satisfy cash income needs from permanently cultivated land and subsistence needs from shifting cultivation. If the present trend continues, many subsistence farmers may become commercial farmers in a few years time.
It is undoubtedly true that there has been significant damage to national resources due to the conversion of natural forest for shifting cultivation in Pema Gatshel. On average, about 186 m3 of growing stock is cut and 5.4 m3 of net annual yield is lost for every hectare of land prepared for shifting cultivation (DOF, 1986). However, in return, the land under shifting cultivation provides fuelwood for many families, has a food production value equivalent to Nu. 890-1 500/ha/year, and provides grazing opportunities for a number of cattle.
Shifting cultivation is often perceived as a destructive practice leading to accelerated environmental degradation, and previous policy documents of the government reflect this belief. It is believed that this practice has led to the destruction of forests, soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. It is also believed that it contributes to degradation of watershed conditions and the overall natural environment. A strong negative association linked to local religious traditions includes the belief that shifting cultivation is a "sinful act" since it leads to the death of many insects during burning. Again, the study findings and conclusions on these issues somewhat contradict these views.
The delicate farm environment found in most parts of Bhutan is characterized by very limited land for permanent cultivation, a scarcity of skilled farm labour for adopting mechanical conservation measures and a shortage of capital to acquire external inputs or labour. Shifting cultivation has been adopted to circumvent all of these constraints. The practice is ecologically more stable than existing permanent cultivation practices. It has produced relatively less environmental impact where the farmers have strictly followed the traditional norms developed through generations of indigenous experience.
In similar environmental conditions in neighbouring countries; forests have disappeared where sedentary cultivation practices have been adopted. As a consequence, serious problems of soil and environmental deterioration have occurred. Therefore, traditional shifting cultivation practices in Bhutan should probably not be qualified as "destructive."
Observation in the field confirms that traditional shifting cultivation is an ecologically stable cultivation practice in Pema Gatshel, where the farm environment, among other things, is mainly at subsistence level and characterized by a non-monetized economy. However, owing to recent socio-economic changes, such as demographic pressures, incentives for cash cropping, changes in the traditional systems of shared communal labour and many others, the traditional norms for shifting cultivation are falling out of use. As a result, adverse environmental impacts are emerging.
Most serious problems in soil and environmental deterioration occur where shifting cultivation and long-term fallow systems have been replaced either by drastically shortened fallows or by continuous cultivation. The problems are the result of the removal of vegetative cover and longer or continuous periods of cultivation without adequate fertility regeneration or application of soil conservation techniques (FAO, 1984).
The present rate of socio-economic change in Pema Gatshel district suggests that it will be extremely difficult to maintain the traditional norms used for cultivating tsheri land. Development of alternatives to shifting cultivation has become inevitable if the natural resources are to be used on a sustainable basis. However, such alternatives cannot be developed overnight. A moderate beginning to seek alternatives has become urgent.
The Forest Policy of 1974 states that shifting cultivation practices have to be abolished if the forest is to be conserved. This study has looked into the ramifications of abolishing shifting cultivation in the farming system in Bhutan and makes the following observations.
Shifting cultivation in Bhutan has evolved out of the combined effects of the biophysical setting, the social and cultural beliefs and the long isolation of the country from external economic activity. Therefore, if shifting cultivation is a problem, it is part of the total economic development problem. It cannot be isolated from the other development issues, and any attempt to abolish it in isolation will have ramifications on the whole development sector.
Shifting cultivation provides the best possible solution for subsistence production to the majority of farmers. The practice, with or without simultaneous permanent cultivation, cannot be completely abandoned for a few more years. In Pema Gatshel, almost every household cultivates tsheri. Therefore, any ad hoc changes in policies affecting shifting cultivation practice may affect the lives of more than 80 percent of the farmers. They may face heavy food deficits for up to nine months (depending upon the size of the holding of the permanently cultivated land) if the policy interventions and associated programmes fail to address the problem.
This study endorses the spirit of the concern expressed by the government in its Forestry Policy of 1974. However, the findings from the field situation lead to the conclusion that abolishment of the present practice all at once is not a viable solution. A gradual improvement in management of the existing shifting cultivation system is more desirable, in order to postpone ecological degradation. Such an approach will provide adequate time to progressively phase out tsheri cultivation through the creation of alternatives such as off-farm employment and increasing production from permanent cultivation.
The following models are identified as possible alternatives to shifting cultivation that could be gradually introduced in the course of a programme for phasing out this practice. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are presented and its potential for implementation is also discussed.
This alternative was conceived by the government during the development of the 1974 Forest Policy. This document identified shifting cultivation as one of the major causes of the depletion of forest wealth. It maintained that the practice should therefore be abolished if the forest were to be conserved. In order to avoid hardships to the present population dependent on this practice of cultivation within forest areas, a payment of appropriate compensation to the dispossessed was recommended. This concept contains several implicit assumptions. It was assumed that:
This alternative is a direct and short-cut approach to phasing out shifting cultivation. A prerequisite for this method is the preparation of a master plan to resettle the displaced farmers, which is a very complex and expensive project in itself. This alternative, therefore, is neither economically feasible nor socially desirable to implement on a large scale. However, limited application of this approach may be desirable for rapid protection of strategic watersheds, road slopes and other places of particular importance from further deterioration.
The concept behind this alternative is that, under the present technological, socioeconomic and institutional conditions, shifting cultivation as a farming system must remain: it is socially accepted, economically rational and scientifically sound. However, owing to emerging socio-economic transformations, the present practice requires certain changes and modifications.
This model would lead to an increase in the production per unit area from shifting cultivation without a substantial departure from traditional fallow cultivation. Since the concept does not depart significantly from the present practice, it would be acceptable to the majority of small farmers practising shifting cultivation. The appropriate technology envisaged in this approach is not readily available and all activities that have been proved successful elsewhere need to be tested on a pilot demonstration scale.
It is expected that changes to traditional shifting cultivation would increase the carrying capacity of tsheri lands by introducing better levels of control and management. Use of improved soil management to improve soil fertility would permit farmers to increase the period of cultivation and decrease the fallow period, and the introduction of tree crops and new crop varieties besides maize would increase the productivity per unit area.
If selected for implementation, this alternative will involve preparatory activities such as the survey and demarcation of all the land under shifting cultivation, including identification of ownership. It would necessitate land evaluation, treatment-oriented classification of all the land under shifting cultivation and the preparation of guidelines for the improvement of each category of land.
Since 1984, the government has encouraged the farmers to convert tsheri land into kamshing (rain-fed cropland). In response to the government's encouragement, several farmers have applied for conversion of their registered tsheri land into kamshing. To avoid uncontrolled land use changes, the government issued a policy paper outlining a process for this conversion. This paper provided guidelines for the evaluation of tsheri land for alternative uses. A simplified version of the evaluation criteria in the guidelines is shown in Table 8.
SOIL DEPTH |
SLOPE |
|||||
GENTLE SLOPE (<12%) |
MODERATE SLOPE (12-26%) |
STRONG SLOPE (26-45%) |
VERY STRONG SLOPE (45-55%) |
VERY STEEP (55-65%) |
STEEP (>65%) |
|
Deep (D) >90 cm |
PC |
PC |
PC |
PC |
FT/FC |
F |
Moderately Deep (MD) 7 m |
PC |
PC |
PC |
PC |
FTfFC |
F |
Shallow (S) 50 cm |
PC |
FC |
FC |
FC |
FC |
F |
Very shallow (VS)< 20 cm |
FC |
P |
P |
P |
F |
F |
LAND Use KEY: PC = Permanent cultivation, FC = Fallow Cultivation, FT = Fruit Trees, P = Pasture and F = Forests.
Treatment-oriented land capability classification: Along lines similar to these guidelines for land conversion, the following land capability scheme for pilot demonstration activities is based on experience gained under a project in Jamaica. The application of the system in Jamaica has produced positive results. Table 9 represents a summary of the classification scheme followed in Jamaica, slightly modified to suit the conditions in the study area. It appears that the proposed scheme suits the environmental or socio-economic requirements of Bhutan and may also suit neighbouring countries. It can be further modified after some experimentation.
SOIL DEPTH |
SLOPE | |||||
GENTLE SLOPE (<12%) |
MODERATE SLOPE (12-26%) |
STRONG SLOPE (26-45%) |
VERY STRONG SLOPE (45-55%) |
VERY STEEP (55-65%) |
STEEP (>65%) | |
Deep (D)<90 Cm |
C1 |
C2 |
C3 |
C4 |
FT |
F |
Moderately Deep (MD) 50 - 90 cm |
Cl |
C2 |
C3 |
C4 |
FT/P |
F |
Shallow (S)20 - 50 cm |
C1 |
C2/P |
C3 /P |
P |
F |
F |
Very shallow (VS)<20 cm |
C1/P |
P |
P |
P |
F |
F |
KEY (most intensive tillage or uses):
CULTIVABLE LANDS:
C1: Type 1: <12% slope, few conservation measures: contour cultivation, strip cropping, vegetative barriers, rock barriers and on larger farms, broad-based terraces.
C2: Type 2: 12-26% slopes, MD soils, more intensive conservation with medium to small bulldozer: bench terracing, hexagons, mini-convertible terracing for tractor farming.
C3: Type 3: 26-45% slopes, small bulldozer; bench terracing, hexagons and mini-convertible terracing on deep soil; hillside ditching, individual basins on shallower soil. Mechanization: small tractor or walking tractor.
C4: Type 4: 45-55% slopes, treatment only with manual labour, cultivation by walking tractor and manually.
NON-CULTIVABLE LANDS:
P: Pasture, improved and managed. At near 55% slope and when the land is too wet, zero grazing should be practised; otherwise, rotational grazing is recommended.
FT: Fruit-trees and other food trees. On slopes of 55% to 65%: orchard terracing, contour planting, diversion ditching, mulching and interspaces under permanent grass cover.
F: Forest land, slopes over 65%, or over 55% where soil is shallow.
Land that is too wet, occasionally flooded or too stony for tillage and treatment is classified as Pasture below 55% and Forest above 55%.
Gully-dissected land that prevents normal tillage is Forest.
This land capability classification system is provisional, subject to further modification to suit the local conditions. However, the classification scheme has several important features.
1) It is a "treatment-oriented" scheme, which means that land is categorized according to the types of major conservation treatments to be recommended for erosion control.
2) It is a simple classification scheme. Land is divided mainly according to the two major factors: the degree of slope and the soil depth, although stoniness, wetness and gully dissection are also considered. The two major factors can be easily measured in the field.
3) It is easy to understand. Plots of land are classified directly by their most intensive use rather than in numerical classes. The capability map can be easily understood by farmers and field workers.
4) It is a practical scheme. This new scheme classifies more lands as cultivable than others, through adoption of the appropriate conservation treatments. In most countries, what is really needed is the creation of more cultivable land for agricultural crops rather than the imposition of stricter limits. This scheme does this by considering the land resources from both the food production and erosion control points of view. The results of land classification for any particular area will also show clearly the conservation needs of that area.
Local solutions to conservation problems: Not all types of conservation treatment would fall into the categories of the scheme. Local conditions and experience might dictate modifications to the classification system. For example, in Bhutan, conservation treatment could be based on regulation of the methods for clearance of vegetation under shifting cultivation. It could be mandated that the vegetation in tsheri land may be cleared only along the contour instead of up and down the slope, as is the case in the present practice, or that it is mandatory to receive official certification that a sufficient fallow period has been respected before clearing.
Another example is that of substituting artificially established woody legumes for natural bush fallow vegetation, an idea of proven value for edible varieties of pigeon pea, but with great potential for other woody legumes that yield fuelwood and other by-products while at the same time contributing to the restoration of soil fertility (Raintree, 1981).11
Other practices may result in improved use of cleared vegetation. At present, the unburnt timber and twigs are left haphazardly for decomposition after clearing. They could be better utilized to construct log bunds to control surface erosion. The unburnt logs can be placed along the contours to act as a contour bund to arrest eroded soils. Other twigs and unburnt vegetation can be spread along these logs to serve as a mulch to conserve moisture.
The techniques for improving shifting cultivation without burning are not fully known. Adaptive research needs to be conducted in this field. If the research proves, as some maintain, that burning does not necessarily enrich the soil and improve the productivity, demonstration of optimum use of cut vegetation would become necessary. This technique involves extraction of cut-over vegetation for use as sawn lumber, charcoal, fuelwood, and supplies for small local industries like carving and basket weaving. The remainder, the small branches and leaves, would be used as green mulch for crops.
The agroforestry model: Foresters in several countries have sought improved forestry systems for local communities after the legal and punitive approaches to address the problems of shifting cultivation failed to achieve their objectives. Instead of imposing a ban on shifting cultivation or nationalizing the land under shifting cultivation, forestry departments in the governments of many countries have designed and implemented projects based on a participatory approach to natural resource management. The basic idea behind these projects is to engage in agroforestry, combining tree crops with food crops. Different systems have been developed and several others are being tested. Important agroforestry systems that are commonly known are: taungya, alley cropping, multistorey intercropping, etc.
This approach is based on several assumptions. First, it is supposed that in a situation of limited availability of permanent cultivation land, farmers will give equal priority to tree crops and food crops. Second, it is assumed that the surplus production of tree crops is usually readily marketable. Third, farmers are presumed to have alternative activities to survive until the tree crop is harvested.
Implementing the agroforestry alternative will involve identification of suitable tree crops and food crops, including the establishment of tree nurseries to distribute seedlings to the farmers. It will also be important to establish or expand forest produce markets, as well as promoting rural forest industries.
This alternative would be socially acceptable to the shifting cultivators in Bhutan if their tsheri land can be registered in their names. Departmental agroforestry has only remote chances of acceptability, while private or even block-level agroforestry, as well as private forestry, would probably be acceptable. Alley cropping and multistorey intercropping may be very attractive to the farmers if they can be demonstrated in the field.
While this model is technically sound, its economic feasibility is doubtful if markets cannot be created. At present, in a farming environment similar to Pema Gatshel, there is no market for forest produce.
The pasture/livestock development model: This alternative has been recommended by the an existing highland livestock project for implementation in the shifting cultivation areas of eastern Bhutan. It envisages the use of successfully demonstrated techniques of undersowing pasture mixtures into maize or buckwheat crops on tsheri land. This grass/legume pasture would not only provide high quality forage for livestock, but would be more effective in increasing soil fertility for the next crop than the present practice of fallowing the land. Under the existing project, seed and fertilizer have been applied and fencing constructed. Luecaena spp. was used for hedging wherever practical (MPW, 1986).
To apply the model from the project, the average farmer on tsheri land should occupy a total area of 2 ha, of which 20 percent is cultivated at any time. The main advantage is that grazing pressure inside the forest area will be reduced. The biggest drawback of this model is the high cost of fencing, fertilizer and seeds. During the large-scale extension of such a model, farmers may not be able to fence and fertilize. The success of this alternative ultimately depends on whether fertilizer and seeds can be highly subsidized.
Horticulture development: One of the most attractive alternatives to shifting cultivation can be the development of fruit orchards where soils and slopes are favourable and the location is close to market. A fruit orchard does well under rain-fed conditions if optimum utilization of rainwater is achieved by introducing soil management and land husbandry practices. This alternative assumes that the government would provide subsidies to convert the area into terraced orchards, providing grass and legume seeds and some chemical fertilizers during the initial years. Government would also need to extend adequate extension follow-up to improve fruit-tree management and support the creation of adequate marketing to absorb the increased production of fruits.
Initial investigation on the economics of fruit orchards reveals that it is a highly profitable enterprise. However, in the absence of detailed agro-economic information in all aspects of the industry it is difficult to predict economic feasibility for a larger scale horticulture operation. Horticulture works best as a relatively high-tech production system using intensive inputs. It is doubtful that subsistence farmers such as shifting cultivators could easily implement this model. Therefore, to start with, this model should be limited to pilot demonstration activities.
This alternative stems from the need to open up new land for permanent cultivation in Bhutan. In many areas of the country, it is clear that if additional land is not brought under permanent cultivation, the ecological balance in the environment will destabilize soon due to excessive crop production from the present shifting cultivation areas. However, this alternative obviously requires the existence of appropriate land capable of supporting rain-fed cultivation in areas currently under shifting cultivation.
For it to work, the government must be in a position to extend subsidies, if required, to improve the land and maintain the productivity. Enough forest must remain to support the various needs of expanded agriculture (such as watershed protection), and there must be sufficient labour to take up the additional land development needs.
Experience in several countries has demonstrated that conversion of marginal land for permanent cultivation is not always economically feasible. Therefore, this alternative needs to be carefully studied in a pilot demonstration activity before expanding into larger areas.
11 For a list of suggested woody legumes for Bhutan, see Appendix E.
