HILL AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN SOUTH SIKKIM, INDIA

In the Mamlay watershed of south Sikkim, India, about 80% of the popul ation depend on land for their livelihood. The agricultural land-use a ctivity includes agroforestry, horticulture and animal husbandry besid es growing crops in irrigated or unirrigated fields. Trees are maintai ned in the farms mainly for fodder and rarely for fuel purposes. Cropp ing system is characterised by cultivation of cereals and cash crops t o ensure supply of food grains and returns for daily needs. This paper presents data on crop production and farm management aspects includin g the linkages among tree-crop-animal components of a hill agriculture system. Crop diversity is high and crop combinations are fixed and we ll tested. Unpalatable grasses are used for composting by mixing with cow dung to meet high demand for manure and thus exhibit efficient rec ycling of plant material. The system is at low input level, and is the refore adopted by even the poorest section of society. Limited infrast ructure facilities, sloping terrain, inaccessibility to most agricultu ral zone, depletion of natural resources from forests, water scarcity during lean period and heavy rainfall during monsoon, and erosion are the main constraints which need to be improved through research using scientific means.