​

Agriculture in hilly areas of India provides income opportunities to many people and is critical in ensuring food security in the region. However, hill farming presents its own set of challenges that require specialized techniques to overcome. Steep slopes, rocky terrain, and soil erosion make agriculture difficult. These regions are prone to natural disasters such as landslides and floods, which can harm crops and lead to food insecurity. However, with the introduction of sustainable agricultural practices, hilly areas can become a vital hub for producing high-quality food products that we can sell in regional and global markets.

​

Challenges of agriculture in hilly areas of India

Hill agriculture has some inherent constraints of remoteness, inaccessibility, and fragility in terms of moisture stress, poor soil conditions, and a short growing season. The uneven terrain makes it challenging to manage water resources for irrigation and often results in poor water retention, so farmers mostly rely on rainfall to irrigate their crops. Other factors such as socio-economic constraints such as smallholdings, poor productivity, poor production management, labor shortages, poor post-production management, poor marketing and networks (lack of market development), and lack of entrepreneurship have led to under-utilizing resource bases in the hills and a limited generation of surpluses.

​

 

Some of the conventional agricultural methods used in hilly regions of India are terracing, crop rotation, and intercropping.

 

Terracing involves creating a series of flat, level platforms on a slope to avoid soil erosion and improve drainage. These terraces will slow the water flow, preventing it from washing the topsoil and nutrients away. But it is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive to build and maintain. Soil nutrient depletion may occur if crops are grown repetitively on the same terrace without crop rotation.

Crop rotation is a practice of growing different crops on the same land in a regularly recurring sequence. The  planned order of specific crops planted on the same field which also means the succeeding crop belongs to a different family than the previous one. Crop rotation can diminish the impact of weeds on crop productivity and lessen herbicide expenditures. The initial costs can be higher, as different sorts of machinery and more profound skills and knowledge are required for other crops.

Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field for the entire or a part of their growing period. It can decrease pest and disease damage by creating a diverse environment that is less favorable for pests and diseases. The pests that attack one crop may not affect the other, thus reducing overall damage. Intercropping can be more challenging to mechanize than monoculture farming, as the crops are planted in a more complex pattern.

​

The necessity of  modern agricultural techniques 

It is essential to use modern techniques like drip irrigation, contour farming, and high-yielding crop varieties to increase the productivity of hill farming. These techniques save time and money for farmers by increasing the yield and quality of crops.

Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface.

Contour farming is a method of plowing along the contours of a hill rather than along the slope. Contour farming is sustainable because it reduces soil erosion by 50% and helps retain twice the rainwater, which helps moisturize the soil. The High Yielding Variety Seeds (HYV seeds) are resistant to pests and diseases and have a high-yielding capacity. These seeds are genetically modified to produce more output per unit of land area.

The Indian government has launched many initiatives and programs for agricultural development in hilly areas.

 

The National Watershed Development Project scheme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) was launched in 1990-91 in 25 States and 2 Union Territories based on twin concepts of integrated watershed management and sustainable farming systems.

The scheme's main objective is:

• To conserve, develop, and sustainably manage natural resources. 

• To enhance agricultural production and productivity sustainably.

• To restore ecological balance in the degraded and fragile rainfed ecosystems by greening these areas through the appropriate mix of trees, shrubs, and grasses. 

• To reduce the regional disparity between irrigated and rainfed areas

• To create sustained employment opportunities for the rural community, including the landless.

​

Impact evaluation studies both on the ground and through remote sensing techniques have shown that watershed-based interventions have led to :

• Increase in groundwater recharge.

• Increase in the number of wells and water bodies.

• Enhancement of cropping intensity.

• Changes in cropping pattern.

• Higher yields of crops and reduction in soil losses.

​

 

Even though we have several constraints in hill agriculture, we have opportunities to harness the productive potential of surface water and agro-climatic diversities that favor cultivating fruits, vegetables, and crops of industrial importance. For developing suitable approaches to hill areas development, there is also much to learn from the experiences of other nations. Initiatives focusing on the inter-country transfer of knowledge and information about successful technological and institutional innovations are needed to benefit from the experiences of other countries. It is more important than ever to encourage sustainable agricultural practices and to use the remaining agricultural land as efficiently as possible.