Traditional agriculture practices in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand: An overview

India’s western Himalaya is an agrodiversity hotspot, including the Garhwal Himalaya. The primary source of income for the residents of Uttarakhand hilly areas is agriculture. More than 75% of the overall population is involved in agriculture or its related practices, which are dominated by traditional subsistence grain farming. Different types of fruits, vegetables, and crops are cultivated in various climatic zones (such as tropical, subtropical, temperate, and cold climates) in Uttarakhand. Some popular traditional agriculture practices were discussed, such as the Sari system, where farmers cultivate crops on a two-year rotation. The Sari system also serves as insurance for small landholding farmers in case of a particular crop failure. Barahnaja is another traditional mixed cropping system based on orphan crops used in the Himalaya area in Uttarakhand because it is a sustainable and secure agricultural yield or crop harvest during erratic weather conditions. Farmers in the hills of Uttarakhand continue to use traditional ways to control pests. Indigenous pest management practices can reduce the need for synthetic pesticides, which can be harmful to the ecosystem, and thereby assist the climate. Climate change is severely impacting traditional agriculture in Uttarakhand, leading to lower crop yields, water stress, crop variety changes, etc., forcing farmers to modify practices and potentially relocate. This review article advocates an overview of various traditional agriculture methods as well as indigenous approaches to pest management, government schemes, and policy, such as PKVY, RKVY, etc., and how climate change affects agriculture or traditional agriculture in Uttarakhand hilly regions.