PRIORITIZING CONSTRAINTS IN HILL AGRICULTURE IN ALMORA, KUMAON HIMALAYA, UTTARAKHAND: A GARRETT RANKING ANALYSIS

Abstract

Hill agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods in the Kumaon Himalaya but is hampered by interconnected economic, infrastructural, technological, environmental, and market access barriers that depress productivity and incomes. This study employs a descriptive-analytical design in the Almora district (Kumaon, Uttarakhand), surveying 100 farm households to profile socio-economic characteristics and prioritize constraints using the Garrett ranking technique, a widely applied method for ordinal constraint analysis in agricultural research. Respondents are predominantly young smallholders with modest landholdings and high dependency ratios, reflecting the structural realities of mountain farming systems in the region. Across five domains, the top-ranked constraints are dependence on traditional, low-value crops (economic), poor road connectivity and inadequate input access and storage (infrastructural), reliance on traditional knowledge and limited mechanization (technological), severe soil erosion and water scarcity (environmental), and inadequate transportation facilities and middlemen dependence (marketing), consistent with wider Himalayan evidence on terrain-induced frictions and climate vulnerability. Environmental stressors, including erosive slopes, variable hydrology, and cryosphere-linked irrigation fragility, compound risk exposures and reduce resilience under climate change. Policy implications include first-mile connectivity and local aggregation with cold-chain, watershed and spring-shed programs, and hill-suitable mechanization and extension for diversification into higher-value, climate-resilient portfolios. Strengthening farmer collectives and market infrastructure can improve price discovery, reduce intermediation, and enable quality-led participation in premium value chains for hill crops.​