Is availability of land a real constraint to fodder development in Bhutan

Introduction Because of historical, geographical and demographic conditions Bhutan has a comparative advantage for livestock production. In spite of this favourable conditions the high expectations from development interventions of the seventies and eighties could only be partly realized. After thirty years of intensive breeding programmes, with high inputs of financial and human resources, Bhutan, the land of herders, and mixed farmers, has become a net importer of livestock products, including liquid milk. The progress in livestock development was hampered by insufficient fodder quality and quantity. Although these nutritional limitations are sometimes not recognized many of the frequently mentioned constraints to livestock production, such as infertility, low productivity, plant poisoning, cattle migration etc can be directly or indirectly related to nutrition and especially to fodder availability and quality.