Farmers use their ITK while planting and lopping fodder trees.
Evidence of growth and survivability of the seedlings as well as foliage production indicates that the ITK has scientific validity. Successful practiceshave been used in the past and passed down from generation to generation, and has become a system of knowledge among the people. In recent centuries, scientific methods have almost dominated indigenous systems. In some cases, indigenous systems have been lost or forgotten by a majority of group members. Fodder trees are an important source of renewable natural resources used by farmers in the hills.