Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

Case 2: There is a small poverty alleviation project in Wuma Town, Gaize
County of Ali Prefecture, which helps poor households plant <strong>and</strong> grow fodder.
The four households included in the project planted more than 100 mu of fodder.
They pack the fodder in used plastic bags (Photo 2) <strong>and</strong> sell it to farming
households, who receive disaster preparedness checks from the government, at
prices of one to two Yuan. Apparently, they make more money growing fodder
than grains. These households have become more motivated in development.
Their farming counterparts not only pass inspections from the government, but
also enhance their disaster preparedness. Since fodder has a very good market
potential, local fodder cultivation projects have been successfully sustained.
The merits in this case of growing <strong>and</strong> selling fodder for poverty reduction is
worthy of recognition. Projects can be sustained if they are profitable.
Case 3: In 2009, Nierixiong Town, Shigatse City, <strong>and</strong> Anduo County of Naqu
Prefecture sold 85,000 kg of oat hay at a price of 1.8 Yuan per kg (Photo 3). The
income generated from growing hay is comparable to that gained by growing
grains on l<strong>and</strong> of a lower quality. Even without government intervention, the
growth of oat hay is spreading quietly in these farming communities.
This case stresses that even in the grain-producing areas; farmers are selling
fodder to increase their revenues. The steady spread of oat hay planting in
agricultural areas shows that fodder plantations are popular with the masses.
Case 4: The yak fattening project in Sibu Village has been going on for three
years. Herdsmen have turned it into a project of “importing fodder to feed
cattle <strong>and</strong> ensuring more cattle slaughtered than lost”. This year all the yaks
that are more than thirteen years old will be slaughtered. The following year,
all of the male yaks above ten years of age will be eliminated. The project
imports mixed feed from the mainl<strong>and</strong> with ingredients including fermented
corn stalks, corn, wheat bran, distiller’s grains, probiotics, salt, etc. The yaks
are well-adapted to the feed <strong>and</strong> gain weight quickly. The cost for the fodder is
lower than for fodder produced in Tibet.
The project appears to deviate from its target at first glance; however, in fact,
it is now closer to the original purpose of the project. “Ensuring more cattle
are slaughtered than lost” means that the old yaks are the first to be slaughtered,
followed by those with the correct weight, then the fattened yaks who
have reached a critical point <strong>and</strong> lastly those that have grown naturally. This
way both efficiency <strong>and</strong> the quality of the meat products can be guaranteed.
Imported feed from the mainl<strong>and</strong> not only has nutritious ingredients <strong>and</strong> low
prices, but also comes in bags that can later be used for the shipment of fertilizer
from pastoral to farming areas.
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> > > 5. Pastoral Practices <strong>and</strong> their Transformations