Livestock and Fish

Livestock are an integral component of the mixed farming system practiced by the great majority of farmers in the hill and lower mountain regions of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. Livestock eat crop and food processing residues and vegetation from areas that cannot be used for crops and turn them into valuable manure for fields and kitchen gardens; milk, meat, and eggs for consumption and sale; raw materials for clothing; and power for ploughing and transport. Cattle, buffalo, goats, pigs, and chickens are the most common animals kept in the mid-hills. Until recently most animals were kept for subsistence purposes, but in recent times farmers are looking increasingly at livestock as a source of income, and have started rearing other animals like ducks, rabbits, and fish for income generation.