Economic analysis of existing agroforestry systems in different altitudinal zones of Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh, India

The studies were conducted to evaluate the existing agroforestry systems and economic returns from the systems in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. A total 220 farmers were selected randomly from four groups viz marginal, small, medium and large based on landholding capacity by dividing the district into three altitudinal zones viz zone-I (<500 m amsl), zone-II (500–1000 m amsl) and zone-III (>1000 m amsl) for survey and data collection. The data were collected using pre-tested schedule for the purpose through personal interviews with head of each household and field sampling. The study revealed that three agroforestry system types were prevalent among different categories of farmers in three altitudinal zones namely agri-silviculture (AS), agri-silvi-horticulture (ASH), and agri-horticulture (AH). Bio-economics of the systems was calculated by using the cost of cultivation, gross return per hectare, net return per hectare and benefit-cost ratio.