While Spiti is following a similar trajectory to Lahaul and Kinnaur in switching to cash crops, there is one aspect in which it still remains traditional. While Lahaul and Kinnaur have adopted the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, Spiti has largely resisted this switch. While a decreasing interest in livestock rearing may have led farmers of Lahaul and Kinnaur with little choice, livestock rearing persists in Spiti and most farmers are skeptical of introducing synthetic supplements. Farmers buy organic livestock manure from as far as Changthang in Ladakh and are also buying poultry manure from the plains. 

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Pea harvest in Kee village; Prasenjeet Yadav

Agriculture – a story of constant change

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Agriculture in the high mountains of Himachal Pradesh has evolved continuously. Improving access and connectivity made it possible for farmers to take their produce to markets. With connectivity improving over the years, farmers have taken risks with growing perishable cash crops. Sometimes these risks also bring major losses, as they did in 2023 when unforeseen weather events caused widescale damage to infrastructure affecting transportation. However, in regular years the financial returns can be attractive. The advent of technology has further led to the adoption of locally relevant technical solutions. Farmers have diversified cropping and have been open to experiments, which have brought them financial rewards. They have balanced between selling their produce to cooperatives and private buyers. Rising incomes have let them broaden their aspirations, with younger generation getting opportunities for better education and greater exposure. Access to cash has also allowed farmers to hire labour, which was previously not possible. Many parts of Lahaul are now experimenting with various forms of contract farming where the profits are shared between the landowners and the labour who manage them. Remoteness may have brought out the dynamism of the farmers of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur. The success of early experiments with cash crops by a handful of farmers paved the way for the entire region. Locals were aware of the risks they were exposed to on account of their remoteness, and they countered this challenge by setting up institutions and arrangements that distributed both the risks and rewards. In the process, cultivation of traditional crops has declined and is now limited to very small pockets.

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Unlike several other Himalayan regions where farming is in severe decline, farming retains its significance in the region. With nearly all households of the region involved in agriculture, it forms a key source of income. And with almost all households owning land parcels on account of land reforms, almost every family has benefited financially, even though the benefits may vary with the size of land holding. This reflects in the fact that the districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti rank second and third in terms of per capita incomes among the districts of Himachal Pradesh, and are well above the average per capita income of the country. There is a continuous demand for land to be brought under cultivation through the extension of nautor rules. A lot of this commercial success has also been possible because of the local climate, which has allowed these regions to supply off-season produce that fetch a premium. But with rising uncertainty in weather patterns, farmers and farming stand increasingly exposed to greater risks even as people’s relation with their land remains strong.