The Value of Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge (IK) is ‘the unique knowledge confined to a particular culture or society…generated through a systematic process of observing local conditions, experimenting with solutions and readapting previously identified solutions to modified environmental and technological situations’ (Senanayake 2006). Unfortunately, the dominant perspective on how to achieve progress often comes from institutions and governments who frame indigenous communities as the ‘problem’ and themselves as the ‘solution’ . This notion is perhaps rooted by colonial periods (Howard 1994) when indigenous communities were viewed as too superstitious and their knowledge ‘illogical’ compared to the superiority of Western scientific knowledge.

The support of ‘techno-optimism’ by the West during the 1980s contributed to a recognition of the importance of IK because of the associated environmental damage and vulnerabilities that came with the advocacy of techno-optimism. The failures of techno-optimism are demonstrated by the FAO (1986) whose research showed 92% of small-scale land in Africa was successfully irrigated by ‘traditional private operators’ as opposed to 8% by ‘modern or intensive private operators’. Whilst scholars are increasingly accepting of the potential for IK to contribute to development discussions, a divide remains between two forms of knowledge long seen as incompatible. Therefore, I wanted to use this post to highlight some of the benefits IK can bring to achieving sustainability and ultimately food security across Africa.

Utilising farming practices like crop rotations has really enhanced food security in areas of SSA. For instance, the Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology (MAFFA) project implements a platform of training for smallholders who can communicate taught methods to maximise soil fertility and nutritional value from crops to members of different communities (Kangmennaang et al. 2017). A focus on food insecure women has also helped with promoting gender equality by increasing their ability to make effective decisions over agricultural income. The growth of certain crops in Malawi been deterred by governments, whilst other crops simply haven’t been introduced to farmers because of declining diversity. However, many of these crops, namely finger millet and sorghum, are actually local grains that can not only replace staple crops like maize but also offer additional benefits such as drought tolerance (FAO 2016).

Collaboration between local communities in Zimbabwe and the Muonde Trust has taken a similar approach to the MAFFA project. However, instead of targeting crop rotations, projects strive to communicate proven water harvesting and catchment management techniques. The emphasis placed on wetland farming opposed a preference for dryland farming that was promoted in the 1950s. Understanding that this approach was unsustainable in the long-term has been pivotal to the success of community work overseen by the Muonde Trust.

IK finds further merit because of its role in the sustainable management of wetlands in the Illubabor zone of the Western Highlands of Ethiopia (Bezabih and Mosissa 2017). Here, indigenous communities have been instrumental in reducing the environmental degradation that threatens the wetlands as a result of government interventions. As such, this system, which provides ecological benefits such as improved water quality, has been maintained to avoid the consequences of its destruction on surrounding communities.

The ramifications of misusing IK or completely rejecting it are exhibited in the breakdown of the Office du Niger project in Mali. The aim was to irrigate 2.47 million acres for the growth of cotton and rice and to develop hydropower in the Mali desert. However, by disregarding traditional agricultural practices and effectively forcing 30,000 workers to adopt foreign techniques, progress was limited to 6% of the target over 50 years later (Gbara 2014)! Even with the intervention of the World Bank, the project failed to make significant advancements due to the continual dismissal of local inputs.

Whilst the value of IK should not be neglected, we must also be careful not to romanticise this knowledge. Therefore, I think IK should be approached with an open-mind and its significance to discussions regarding agriculture taken seriously. This could help us take a huge step in the right direction in confronting problems of food and water security across Africa.