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Farming systems
This region is characterized by two main farming systems.
The Pastoral System is practised throughout much of Central Asia, Mongolia, eastern China, and the highland plateaus of South Asia and the Hindu Kush. Altogether, 37 million rural mountain people in these sub-regions follow a pastoral way of life. Most pastures are in high mountainous areas or adjacent to dry zones. Cereals, fodder crops and potatoes are cultivated for subsistence in mountain valleys. Due to excessive animal population and poor grazing techniques, rangeland is being rapidly degraded and erosion processes are spreading. Although meat output is increasing, wool production has fallen dramatically and poverty is becoming more widespread.
In the Sparse Arid Systems at higher elevations, where cold winters lead to dormancy or very slow growth of crops and fodder species, some crop cultivation is still possible, and animals are grazed wherever the condition of the vegetation permits. Altogether, 7 million rural mountain people use this system. As in the pastoral areas, degradation of the natural resource base is a growing phenomenon, and poverty and food insecurity are moderate to severe.
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The FAO Mountain Products Programme is currently implementing a project on “Institutional Capacity-building in Development of Small-scale Enterprises in Mountain Regions of Kyrygzstan”. FAO’s main partners in this country include The National Centre for Development of Mountain Regions and the Rural Development Centre (RDC-Elet).
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The definitions of farming systems in mountain areas are adapted from 'Towards a GIS-based analysis of mountain environments and populations' (FAO, 2003). Read more
Farming Systems and Poverty
EASTERN EUROPE
AND CENTRAL ASIA