GTZ Project Document No. 51 Report on Nahi Baseline Survey

Nahi Baseline Survey April- May 20012 Description of the Farming System2.1 IntroductionUnderstanding the nature of agriculture is fundamental to understanding development. Ina sense agriculture is simply one industry among many but it is an industry withdifference. In poor developing countries like Bhutan agriculture employs about 85% ofits total population in contrast to 8-10% in developed economies. Therefore, agriculture’srole in economic development is central because most people in poor countries maketheir living from the land. Farmers in developing countries must produce enough to feedthemselves, as well as the urban population. Hence as the proportion of the urbanpopulation rises, the productivity of farmers must also rise presenting a challenge to theproducers and the development agents.This chapter therefore, presents a brief description of the farming system in Nahi valley.The farming system is defined as a decision making and land use unit, consisting of thecomponents like the farm household, crops and livestock systems that produces crops andanimal products for household consumption and use. The farming system in Nahiintegrates and manages the crops, livestock and forest activities for the sustenance of thefarm family.In many cases, analysing a farm household system requires a good understanding of thewider structures or intra household processes that affect the agricultural production. InNahi valley the structure of the farm household system appears relatively simple. Theresidential units are easily distinguished, and for most purposes they constitute both theconsumption and production units.2.2 The HouseholdThe household represents a social unit and as defined by Ellis, (1988) it represents themost typical feature “dual economic nature of peasant production: the peasant unit ofproduction is both a family and an enterprise; it simultaneously engages in bothconsumption and production”. The household is composed of a group of people who arerelated and who individually or jointly provide management, labour capital, land andother inputs for production crops and livestock. Most farm households contain a nucleusfamily with the parents of either the husband or the wife living in the same house. Thesurvey has covered a total of 95 households (more appropriately gungs) in Nahi geog. Asin most subsistence farms, the household represents the most important componentaround which all the farming activities are centred. The household therefore, representsthe main source of resources required on the farm for most of the crop and livestockproduction activities. At the same time the household is also the main consumer foralmost all the products produced on the farm.2.2.1 Household size and structureIn simple terms the farm and the household are inseparable. The farm providesemployment and income for the household members while the household provides the5