Farming and Animal Husbandry
2004-03-01 18:00
Farming Tibet currently has 223,000
hectares of cultivated land Important farm produce includes
winter highland barley, winter wheat, spring wheat, spring
highland barley, peas, broad beans, potatoes, rape and beets
In some areas rice, corn, soybeans, mung beans, peanuts,
tobacco, cabbage, spinach, turnips, brassica, buckwheat,
jizhuagu (glutinous highland millet) and lamb's-quarters are
also grown. Highland barley and spring wheat have long been
cultivated in Tibet More than 70 species of highland barley
are found and there are six species of spring wheat with
more than 50 varieties.
Walnuts, tea, apples
and sea-buckthorns are leading cash crops. Walnut planted on
4,600 hectares of land produces more than 500 tons annually.
Annual output of tea is 130 tons Over 4,000 tons of more
than 40 species of apples are produced annually
Seabuckthorns are found throughout the region with the
exception of the northern plateau, with more than 6,600
hectares along the Yarlungzangbo, Lhasa and Nyangqu rivers
alone Major farming areas in Tibet et are found along the
Yarlungzangbo x River and its tributaries, and the plains
lining the Jinsha, Lancang and Nu rivers These areas are
known as the "highland granaries" Under the
restraints of the old feudal serf system, the develop ment
of the productive forces was extremely slow, production
methods were backward, tools rudimentary and farming methods
crude Statistics gathered in 1952 report more than 160,000
hectares of cultivated land, but a grain output of only
155,000 tons.
Seeking to overcome this
backward state, Tibetan farmers energetically pursued
farmland capital construction beginning in the 1960s.
Irrigation works were built, soil improved, new-style
farming tools popularized and high-quality seed types
cultivated. The old system of cultivation was improved with
development of scientific farming. As a result, agricultural
production climbed rapidly.
By 1994 annual
grain output was 640,000 tons, 4 I times that of 19S2 and
annual output of oil-bearing products was 27,000 tons.
Animal Husbandry Tibet's vast land area is a rich resource
for animal husbandry. It is one of China's five great
pasturelands; 56 percent of all of its grasslands, 46
million hectares, are used only for animal husbandry.
Another 21.6 million hectares, 26 percent of total
grassland, are used for farming and animal husbandry, with
the remaining 14 8 million hectares, or 18 percent, being
used only for farming.
High quality,
grass-rich grassland accounts for 9.7 percent of all usable
grassland, 5.3 million out of 55 million hectares available.
Medium-grade grasslands total 39 million hectares, 70.9
percent of all usable grasslands, with the remaining 10.66
million hectares, 19.4 percent, low-yield desert steppe.
Important domesticated animals include yaks,
cattle, piaartiu (offspring of a bull and a female yak),
horses, donkeys, sheep and pigs Most of these are raised
under extensive conditions and are indigenous, primitive
species.
As such they are well adapted to
local conditions, genetically prepared for the cold, low air
pressure and thin oxygen of the high plateau. These animals
provide the material base for the subsistence of the Tibetan
people and also a valuable resource for the generation of
foreign exchange.
In addition they provide
important raw materials for local traditional handicrafts,
textiles, processing and other light industry. They hold an
important position in the nation's economy Animal husbandry
has been practised for several thousand years in Tibet using
the primitive extensive grazing method, the herdsmen moving
from place to place to find water and grass, a situation
that continued until the late 1950s.
Productivity was low Reportedly, there were
only 9.74 million head of Livestock in Tibet in 1952. Over
the past 30 years the Tibetan governments at various levels
have organized herdsmen in a large-scale move to protect the
grasslands Livestock breeds have been improved and
prevention and treatment of livestock diseases emphasized.
Other measures, such as enclosing or irrigating pastureland
and rotating grazing, have further benefited animal
husbandry In 1994 there were more than 23 million head of
livestock in the region, consisting of 4 million yaks,
980,000 cattle, 270,000 pianniu, I.55 million dairy cattle,
140,000 horses, 11.4 million sheep, 5.77 million goats and
180,000 pigs.
Total output of meat was 106,000
tons, milk 177,000 tons and wool 8,800 tons. Township
Enterpirses As elsewhere in China, township enterprises and
the diversified economy have been developing quite rapidly.
In 1994 earnings by township enterprises reached 250 million
yuan, while proceeds from the diversified economy reached
380 million yuan.