Agriculture has traditionally been the foundation\u00a0of the Tibetan economy. The three major forms of occupation\u00a0in Tibet are pastoral nomadism (drokpa), grain farming\u00a0(shingpa) and semi-nomadism (sama-drok). Over 80 percent of the total population of Tibet is still engaged in primary\u00a0sector agriculture (TIN 1999a). Farmers are mainly\u00a0concentrated in valleys where they utilise fertile soil for crop\u00a0cultivation, while pastoral and semi-nomads are found on\u00a0plateaus and mountains suitable for raising animals.<\/p>\n
Natural rangelands abound in Tibet, accounting for 70\u00a0per cent of the total territory supporting an estimated population\u00a0of 70.2 million domestic animals and about one million\u00a0pastoral nomads (DIIR 1992). The rangelands are mostly\u00a0concentrated in the Chang Thang (Northern Plateau) which\u00a0has long been regarded as one of the best grazing regions in\u00a0Asia. Cropland accounts for only two per cent while forest\u00a0accounts for five per cent.<\/p>\n
Desert, rocky and permanently barren lands, settlements,\u00a0lakes and rivers account for the remaining 23 per cent of\u00a0the total territory (ibid).\u00a0According to Chinese sources, grasslands in the northeastern\u00a0province of Amdo \u00a0(Ch: Qinghai) account for 96\u00a0per cent of the province, while in \u2018TAR\u2019 56.72 per cent of\u00a0the region constitutes highland pasture (Tibetan Bulletin\u00a01992a). The vast rangelands of Kham produce superior\u00a0quality grass.<\/p>\n
MAJOR OCCUPATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n Pastoral Nomad Migration<\/strong> Tibetan nomads migrate with their herds of yaks, sheep\u00a0and goats and their movements are designed in such a way\u00a0that the herds are moved to various pastures during different\u00a0seasons of the year. Different pastures were used for summer\u00a0and winter grazing allowing the land to recover and retain\u00a0its fertility. The staple diet of the nomads is tsampa (roasted\u00a0barley) supplemented by butter, cheese, yoghurt and meat;\u00a0their drinks are butter tea and a beer called chang, which is\u00a0usually made from barley.<\/p>\n The milk products such as butter and cheese are bartered\u00a0with farmers for food grains. Dri (female yak) milk is\u00a0churned every day using a wooden churner called dongmo\u00a0and the butter that is collected is then pressed into a hard\u00a0circular cake from which all liquid is removed and then\u00a0packed into skin and wooden storage containers. The butter\u00a0is prepared so well that it can be stored for long periods\u00a0without turning rancid. The cheese prepared from buttermilk\u00a0is either used fresh or processed further into hard cheesefor marketing. Dried cheese is made by slicing the circular\u00a0cheese into small pieces and hanging them in strings of 20\u00a0squares. Yak meat is considered a delicacy and eaten raw\u00a0(red meat) by preserving a section of leg wrapped in cloth.\u00a0Fresh meat or dried meat can be cooked in stews.<\/p>\n Nearly three quarters of Tibet\u2019s territory is pasture which\u00a0forms the backbone of Tibet\u2019s agro-pastoral economy.\u00a0Though the grasslands nurture a rich wealth of animals and\u00a0a flourishing pastoral economy, the rugged mountain ranges\u00a0and extensive steppes are covered with green grasses for\u00a0only a few months of the year (Miller 1997c).<\/p>\n Many animals die every year due to the shortage of fodder\u00a0and the fact that grasses are buried under snow in winter\u00a0and spring. At times, the winter death rate could go as high\u00a0as 50 per cent of the herd size. Overgrazing and snowstorms\u00a0can lead to a decrease in grass availability and nutrient\u00a0loss and therefore winter pastures are relied upon when the\u00a0grass is withering. Herdsmen usually prefer to mow winter\u00a0pastures before grazing begins. However, the amount of\u00a0hay annually produced by mowing is very limited because\u00a0grasses are short (only 5-12 cm) and vegetation cover is\u00a0relatively sparse (Wu 1997).<\/p>\n According to Long and Ma (1997), there are five primary\u00a0types of rangeland existing in Amdo region which exemplifies\u00a0the richness of the Tibetan Plateau\u2019s grassland. They\u00a0are as follows:<\/p>\n \u2022 Woodland and coarse grass Yaks and dris are the most important domesticated animals\u00a0found in the pastoral areas of the Tibetan Plateau.Dris provide milk and milk products, and along with yaks\u00a0yield meat, hair, wool and hides. They are also used as pack\u00a0as well as draught animals and for riding. Their dung is an\u00a0important source of fuel on the plateau where firewood is\u00a0scarce. They make life possible for people to live in one of\u00a0the world\u2019s harshest environments.<\/p>\n Sheep and goats are also very important animals on Tibet\u2019s\u00a0rangelands. Although yaks characterise Tibetan pastoralism,\u00a0sheep and goats are often more economically important\u00a0in many areas. Sheep and goats provide wool, meat,\u00a0hides and in some areas of Western Tibet, sheep are also\u00a0milked. Sheep meat is preferred among nomads and\u00a0agricultural people throughout Tibet. Tibetan wool is well\u00a0known for its quality and is highly prized in the carpet industry\u00a0for its great elasticity, deep lustre and outstanding tensile\u00a0strength. Tibetan goats produce cashmere; some of the\u00a0finest cashmere in the world comes from Western Tibet\u00a0and much of it is exported to Europe. Goats are also milked\u00a0as they lactate for a longer period of time than sheep.\u00a0Nomads spin sheep and yak wool and yak hair. Women\u00a0weave wool into material for tents, blankets, bags and clothing\u00a0and men braid ropes. These items are still used in everyday\u00a0nomadic life.<\/p>\n Grain from Productive Niches<\/strong> The traditional agricultural system naturally embodied\u00a0organic farming principles. The principles of crop rotation,\u00a0mixed crops and periodic fallows were sustainable and appropriate\u00a0to the fragile mountain environment. Traditionally\u00a0the principal Tibetan crop was highland barley used for making\u00a0tsampa; and under Chinese government directives, wheat\u00a0is increasingly being planted to suit the Chinese migrant diet.\u00a0However, in one mu (15 Mu equals 1 hectare) of land, the\u00a0barley yield has decreased from 1300-1500 gyama (1 gyama\u00a0equals 500 grams) to about 900 gyama in Rebkong,\u00a0Amdo(Tibet Times 1999). Other major crops include rice,\u00a0maize, mustard, millet, sorghum, buckwheat and rape-seed.<\/p>\n The main vegetables that grow well are cabbage, lettuce,\u00a0radish, turnip, peas, carrot, potato, spinach, kidney beans,\u00a0tomatoes and others. The abundant sunshine is good for\u00a0vegetable production and it is not unusual for a radish or\u00a0cabbage to grow to a dozen kilograms, or a single potato toweigh half or one kilogram. These days fresh vegetables\u00a0grown in greenhouses are available throughout the four seasons,\u00a0especially in the Lhasa area (Dekhang 1997).\u00a0Normally much of the farm work is done by family\u00a0members, but during the sowing and harvesting seasons \u2014\u00a0which extend for only a few days and have to be completed\u00a0according to climatic conditions \u2014 they hire people who\u00a0are paid in kind or they exchange labour. Any harvest surplus\u00a0is traded for animal products with nomads in pastoral areas.<\/p>\n Semi-Nomadism<\/strong> TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS<\/strong> Nomads have been herding livestock on the grazing lands\u00a0of the Tibetan Plateau for nearly 4,000 years, but pastoral\u00a0production strategies and practices vary widely across the\u00a0rangelands, depending on altitude, environmental conditions\u00a0and rangeland types (ibid).<\/p>\n For centuries, trade was based on a barter system of\u00a0exchanging nomadic products like wool and salt for the grains\u00a0of farmers. Traditionally, the Tibetan pastoral nomads did\u00a0not involve themselves in the practice of commercial meat\u00a0production. This is because most Tibetans are religious and\u00a0believe in life-after-death which could mean being reborn as\u00a0the animals killed and therefore they seldom slaughtered.\u00a0Although Chinese nomads can earn 10 times more per animal,\u00a0Tibetans do not show much interest in monetary rewards\u00a0or in changing their behaviour to maximise returns,\u00a0especially when it means increasing the accelerated slaugh-ter of their herds.<\/p>\n Tibetan nomads lived in yak hair tents \u2014 called ba in\u00a0Tibetan \u2014 made from the long, coarse outer hair of the\u00a0yak and dri called tsid-pa, which is spun and woven by thenomads themselves. The tents suit the nomadic lifestyle\u00a0because they can be easily taken down and packed on yaks\u00a0when moving camp. These tents help to keep out the rain\u00a0yet let in light. Sections of old and frayed tents can be easily\u00a0replaced with new strips of woven yak hair. The tents are\u00a0ingeniously designed to stand up to the fierce winds that\u00a0blow across the high Tibetan plains in winter.<\/p>\n Pastoralists on the Tibetan Plateau often raise a mix of\u00a0different animal species as each species has different characteristics\u00a0and adaptations to the grazing environment. The\u00a0multi-species grazing system, like raising yaks, sheep, goats\u00a0and horses together, is commonly practised by Tibetan nomads\u00a0and maximises the use of rangeland resources. Different\u00a0species of animals graze on different plants and, when\u00a0herded together on the same range, make more efficient\u00a0use of rangeland vegetation than a single species (Miller\u00a01997c).<\/p>\n In Tibet, grain constitutes over 80 per cent of total crops\u00a0by value. Yields per hectare vary widely. Tibet\u2019s croplands\u00a0were traditionally farmed using methods that were both efficient\u00a0and environmentally sound and Tibetan society used\u00a0to be self-sufficient with respect to food supplies. The dry\u00a0climate allowed storage of surplus harvests for long periods\u00a0of time, sometimes more than 25 years. This resulted in a\u00a0mainly closed economy, where comparatively little trading\u00a0with neighbouring countries occurred. Some of the products\u00a0of trade were salt, wool, butter, livestock and tea. Within\u00a0the communities, barter exchange trade was the most commonly\u00a0used system to acquire necessary provisions (Zhang\u00a01989). Factors that allowed Tibetan society to maintain\u00a0these isolationist practices for such a long period were the\u00a0low rate of population growth and sustainable agricultural\u00a0methods.<\/p>\n Traditionally, the pastoral grasslands were considered the\u00a0property of the central government in Lhasa. The government\u00a0had the right to transfer the ownership of estates in\u00a0lieu of service, such as spiritual, military and civil administration\u00a0administration,\u00a0rendered by different sections of the society. The\u00a0grasslands were not demarcated, allowing a natural form of\u00a0transhumance. Spiritual service was rendered by monastic\u00a0institutions whereas the military and civil administration came\u00a0from the lay population. Land use was restricted to three\u00a0major estate-holders: local administrative officials, the nobility\u00a0and upper-ranking lamas in monasteries (Goldstein\u00a01989). These groups accounted for less than five per cent\u00a0of Tibet\u2019s population, but controlled most farmland,\u00a0pastures, forests as well as most of the livestock, of which\u00a030.9 per cent was owned by officials, 29.6 per cent by nobles\u00a0and 39.5 per cent by monasteries and upper ranking lamas.\u00a0Farmers and nomads made up 90 per cent of old Tibet\u2019s\u00a0population (Geography of Tibet 1991).<\/p>\n Source: Tibet 2000 Environment and Development Issues\/DIIR<\/strong><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Agriculture has traditionally been the foundation\u00a0of the Tibetan economy. The three major forms of occupation\u00a0in Tibet are pastoral nomadism (drokpa), grain farming\u00a0(shingpa) and semi-nomadism (sama-drok). Over 80 percent of the total population of Tibet is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agricluture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":778,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions\/778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTibet\u2019s pastoral nomadism represents a unique example of\u00a0the sustainable pastoralism that was once common in many\u00a0parts of the world. The pastoral nomads manage their grazing\u00a0lands with a combination of traditional knowledge, instinct\u00a0and sensitivity to environmental conditions; skills that\u00a0have ensured the productivity of these pastures for millennia.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Shrub and coarse grass
\n\u2022 Dry rangeland
\n\u2022 Desert rangeland
\n\u2022 Meadow rangeland<\/p>\n
\nCroplands of Tibet are located at very high altitudes compared\u00a0to croplands in other parts of the world. Croplands\u00a0account for only two per cent of Tibet\u2019s total area and yet\u00a0this supplies the essential food grain needs of the populace,\u00a0despite its extreme altitudes, weather conditions and a short\u00a0growing season. The principal croplands are arable niches\u00a0along the Drichu, Zachu and Gyalmo Ngulchu river valleys\u00a0of Kham, the Yarlung Tsangpo valley in U-Tsang and the\u00a0Machu valley in Amdo. Kham province is the most fertile\u00a0cropland region, accounting for 85 per cent of the country\u2019s\u00a0arable land (DIIR 1992).<\/p>\n
\nA third agro-pastoral category is semi-nomadism \u2014 a mixture\u0f0bof nomadic lifestyle and farming in productive niches,\u0f0bwhich involves the raising of livestock and at the same time\u0f0bengages in agricultural practices.<\/p>\n
\nOver the centuries, the pastoralists of the Tibetan Plateau\u00a0have been immensely successful not only in using their vast\u00a0rangelands but also in conserving the grazing capacity of\u00a0these areas. Wildlife also coexisted with nomadic populations\u00a0on the plateau (Schaller and Gu 1994). Over thousands of\u00a0years nomads adapted to their environment, learning to live\u00a0with what it offered instead of trying to change or mould\u00a0the landscape to suit their own needs (Miller 1997c).<\/p>\n