Using development programmes that have been implemented in the study area from the colonial to the recent times, many of which were largely underpinned by modernisation theory and practice, indigenous knowledge theory and practice. Secondly, it will try to show the importance of indigenous knowledge in sustainable development by providing a number of examples about the advantages and. Protecting and preserving indigenous knowledge the mail. The development of indigenous knowledge systems, including management of natural environment, has been a matter of survival to the people who generated these systems. African indigenous knowledge systems and relevance of higher education in south africa indigenous knowledge systems as a tool for making higher education relevant to the developmental challenges in south africa and african at large muya, 2007. People have an intimate knowledge of many aspects of their surroundings and their daily lives. The use and role of indigenous knowledge in smallscale. Use of renewable products is a common characteristic found in indigenous agricultural practices. Role of indigenous knowledge in sustainable development. An inaugural lecture by anwar osman centre for africa studies 1.
Indigenous knowledge is the basis for local level decisionmaking in food security, human and animal health, education, nrm, and other vital economic and social activities. Using indigenous knowledge to improve agriculture and natural. Indigenous knowledge systems in forestry development the next two examples illustrate the failure and success in regreening forest by the government and the indigenous people. The role of indigenous knowledge in sustainable rural. Indigenous knowledge for sustainable agriculture and rural. Pdf indigenous knowledge, agricultural practices and food. Although studies of ik provide evidence that ik is important and powerful, a. Importance of indigenous knowledge in curbing the loss of.
The importance of indigenous knowledge in agricultural development esmaiel ghorbani 1 and fatemeh bakhtiar2 1, 2 darab branch, islamic azad university, darab, iran corresponding author. African indigenous knowledge systems and relevance of. Indigenousled social institutions provide the means by which societies can act on their local knowledge to support livelihoods based on the environment berkes 2012. Using indigenous knowledge in agricultural development. Some types of indigenous knowledge simply fall outside the realm of prior western understanding. Pdf indigenous knowledge as a key to sustainable development. Indigenous traditional knowledge is the knowledge that people in a given community have developed over time, and continue to develop. Indigenous knowledge can help to meet the broader objectives of society, for instance conserving the environment, developing sustainable agriculture and ensuring food security, while its. A01, h01l 5100 india, the country of rishi and krishi, has a. Ecological agriculture, or to use its original name, indigenous agricultural knowledge, is recognized by a growing number of scientists as the most effective method of promoting sustainable development. Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural. Indigenous knowledge is stored in culture in various forms, such as traditions, customs, folk stories, folk songs, folk dramas, legends, proverbs, myths, etc. Indigenous knowledge ik, sustainable development sd indigenous knowledge ik has become an interesting topic.
Pdf indigenous knowledge, agricultural practices and. Approaches to indigenous knowledge in international development. However, there is a general, understanding as to what constitutes ik. Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. For example, the northern australian indigenous land and sea management alliance nailsma is a modern indigenousled. The importance of indigenous knowledge barza scripts.
Looking to the importance of role of indigenous knowledge in sustainable use and management of agriculture and natural resources, an attempt has been made to identify the tribal farmers wisdom regarding the local practices in vogue among community to manage and sustain the agriculture and natural resources. This knowledge has the potential to play an important role in conserving natural resources, finding food alternatives and reducing the use of chemicals in production of materials. A study was conducted in western uganda to investigate indigenous agricultural practices using local knowledge by researchers. The study determined a positive correlation between improved technologies and assets and access to extension services. Indigenous knowledge is the knowledge that people in a given community have developed overtime, and continues to develop.
Oxford vocabulary define the word indigenous knowledge such this it is created naturally in a region which is related to the people of that region. Indigenous knowledge is important for many kinds of development activities to be successful. Although african indigenous knowledge systems aiks have existed for thousands of years, their concept and practice began to emerge in the science spheres only three decades ago. Indigenous knowledge is a knowledge that has been grown in a long time and has transferred from one generation to other generation in hereditary form. A case study of the vedic tradition in nepal by anthony b.
Pdf the objective of this paper is to describe the dynamics of indigenous knowledge ik in traditional farming system and to detect the contribution. Indigenous knowledge systems in the use and management of. Indigenous knowledge, organic farming, sustainability, uttarakhand, india ipc int. Indigenous knowledge is passed from generation to generation, usually by word of mouth and cultural rituals, and has been the basis for agriculture, food preparation and conservation, health care. Indigenous forms of communication are important to. The call for the interfacing of iks with other knowledge systems is based on tenets. Indigenous knowledge in this issue of baobab, we focus on the importance of indigenous knowledge as a key for sustainable agriculture. Pdf the use of indigenous knowledge in agriculture and its role. Broadly, it is variously regarded as ethnoscience, folk knowledge, traditional knowledge, local knowledge, peoples knowledge, among others. Willett a dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy department. Such knowledge and practices of farmers is worth validating and exchanging with the other parts of the world to make organic agriculture sustainable.
This thesis examines the role and use of indigenous knowledge within smallscale agricultural systems in africa and its relevance in development practice and theory. Abstract this study researched indigenous knowledge systems iks in agriculture in zimbabwes rural areas, focusing on crop farming in the tonga of binga district in matebelelands north province, and livestock in the kalanga tribe of the plumtree district in matebelelands south province. The use of indigenous knowledge in agriculture and its. In international climate talks, negotiating parties which represent countries rather than communities tend. Secondly, it will try to show the importance of indigenous knowledge in sustainable development by providing a number of examples about the advantages and drawbacks of ik in sustainable development. Interdependence between crops, livestock, forests, and fodder is the key issue in indigenous farming systems. Indigenous knowledge has an important role in global knowledge economy world bank, 1997.
Agricultural and social scientists have been aware of the existence of ik since colonial times, but from the early 1980s understanding of farmers practices as rational and valid has rapidly gained ground. The characteristics of indigenous knowledge systems. While indigenous agricultural knowledge is of immense value in improving food production, its documentation and dissemination remain a big challenge. Indigenous knowledge can play a key role in the design of sustainable agricultural systems, increasing the likelihoodthat rural populations will accept, develop, and maintain innovations and interventions. It is the basis for locallevel decision making in agriculture, health care, food. But indigenous knowledge integrates the spiritual, environmental, agricultural and all other kinds of knowledge within a culture. Ik contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. The importance of educating youth in their own cultures, as well as using indigenous languages to educate them, was stressed today during the. Role of indigenous knowledge in traditional farming system. In india, local farmers intentionally plant sunflower in wheat fields so as to aid the. The research found that there has mass implications of indigenous knowledge in sustainable development. The relevance of indigenous knowledge to sustainable.
The greater the recycling of resources, the system becomes more sustainable. The use of indigenous knowledge has been seen by many as an alternative way of promoting development in poor rural communities in many parts of the world. Different definitions were presented about indigenous knowledge by experts that each of them present. Michael warren is director of the center for indigenous knowledge for agriculture and rural development at iowa state university. It is based on the experience, often tested over centuries of use, adapted to local culture and environment, dynamic and changing. Despite this growing recognition, the role of traditional knowledge in adapting agriculture to climate change remains largely undervalued by decision makers. Pdf role of indigenous knowledge in traditional farming system. Using indigenous knowledge in agricultural development english abstract. It is based on the experience, often tested over centuries of use, adapted to local culture and local environment, dynamic and changing. Indigenous knowledge, agricultural practices and food security. Center for indian knowledge system ciks itk in cotton production and protection in india. The use of indigenous knowledge in agriculture and its role in. Michael warren and kristin cashman indigenous knowledge can play a key role in the design of sustainable agricultural systems, increasing the likelihoodthat rural populations will accept, develop, and maintain innovations and interventions.
Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the respondents n60 variable % sex male female 42 58 age group 1530 3145 4660 47 30 23 marital status married divorced single 68 4 28. Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural development and agricultural education. The example below illustrates this idea by examining how spiritual beliefs are part of. It is the basis for local decision making in agriculture, health, food education and environmental. Indigenous knowledge systems are holistic in nature i. Following changes in environmental conditions of indigenous knowledge systems of agriculture also. The above kiswahili quotation, said to me during fieldwork by a smallscale farmer in coast region in tanzania, translates into english. The farmers in developing countries benefit from intelligent knowledge of agriculture and natural resources. Faculty of organic agriculture, kassel university, germany. Recent studies about indigenous knowledge in agriculture is having some effect. If it has not been recorded, it remains largely inaccessible to development workers. Solutions offered by a development projeict may fail because they do not fit with the local knowledge. Library of congress cataloginginpublication data warren, dennis m. Use of these cultural items as resources in schools can be very effective in bringing indigenous knowledge alive for the students.
Indigenous knowledge in agriculture is so central to local peasants in zimbabwe to the extent that it has become central to the collection development policies of. Sustainable indigenous knowledge systems in agriculture in. This knowledge has been gained from past generations and through close interaction with small natural environments. Center for indigenous knowledge for agriculture and rural development brought me to. One of our objectives was to identify, from the farmers perspective, the most important constraints to. So indigenous knowledge represents a whole culture. The role of indigenous knowledge in agricultural development is widely understood 15. In contrast to western knowledge, which tends to be text based, reductionist, hierarchical and dependent on categorization putting things into categories, indigenous science does not strive for a universal set of explanations but is. The importance of indigenous traditional knowledge in science. The importance of indigenous knowledge in agricultural.
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