Tunji Titilola
The 'crisis in African agriculture' has attracted the attention of practitioners, researchers,
policymakers and donors. It is argued here that the solution to this crisis may lie in promoting sustainable
agriculture, based on minimum levels of external inputs. However, if development efforts aimed at
sustainable agriculture are to be successful, research will be needed to identify those local agricultural
practices which have, and have not proved capable of meeting the needs of the people. The essential
linkages between agricultural development, sustainable development, and the use of local knowledge are
defined. The article also examines the consequences of the Green Revolution.
The 'crisis in African agriculture' has attracted the attention of practitioners, researchers, policymakers and donors. The degradation of natural resources, as reflected in deforestation, soil erosion, and the misuse of land, is promoted by population pressures, poverty, and the use of inappropriate technology. These are considered by many to be the principal causes of adverse trends in crops and productivity. The promotion of 'sustainable agriculture', based on minimum levels of external inputs, may help resolve the present dilemma.
The 'solution' may lie in using sustainable agriculture to conserve agricultural resources. This requires the adoption of a fundamentally new paradigm of sustainable development (Pearce, 1988). The problem with the existing studies is that they ignore or disregard local knowledge systems. A reconceptualization of development may therefore be required, with the focus on farming activities. This would make it possible to utilize the positive aspects of local knowledge systems developed among tropical and sub-tropical agriculturists.
If development efforts aimed at sustainable agriculture are to be successful, research will be needed to identify those local agricultural practices which have, and have not proved capable of meeting the needs of the people, and to implement these before considering the introduction of external inputs. An understanding of local knowledge systems, including institutions and organizational structures, can support existing sustainable practices and expedite appropriate changes. On the basis of their own experience in the field of development, a growing number of individuals and organizations have come to appreciate the importance of working with and through local systems, instead of trying to work around them (Dommen, 1988). The essential linkages between agricultural development, sustainable development, and the use of local knowledge will be examined below.
Africa's problems and its potential for sustainable agricultural development
In response to pressures to repay foreign debts, African countries have encouraged agricultural and forest
exports, indirectly contributing to the depletion of renewable resources, such as forest, soil, water and
biomass (Odingo, 1988; Pearce, 1988:104). Pressures on natural resources have increased as agricultural
lands have been appropriated, encroached upon by various groups, or privatized as following the
emergence of commercial markets. The implications of unsustainable resource use at the household level
include more time spent collecting firewood and potable water, and reduced nutritional intake. At the
national level, deteriorating yields and rural-urban migration are widespread (Blaikie, 1985; Southgate and
Disinger, 1987).
Sub-Saharan Africa offers a number of conditions which are favourable to increased agricultural
productivity, such as sufficient arable and permanent crop land per capita, low population densities,
customary forms of land tenure that prevent the concentration of landownership, the absence of large
classes of landless agricultural workers, and labour costs which are low by international standards (Nair,
1983:53). However, sustainable agricultural production in Africa requires the organization and analysis of
such basic resource data as rainfall patterns, physical and biological properties of soil, quality and quantity
of vegetative cover, and drainage patterns. The importance of such basic information on Africa's diverse
ecological and cropping subsystems has been emphasized by Nair (1983:90): 'Africans and donors alike
know far too little about the science of tropical food production. Nor have we had any more success in
converting the little we do know into production increases'.
For Africa's predominantly small-scale farmers, development necessarily depends on the availability and
thoughtful use of local natural resources. Consequently, if food security is to be ensured, the resource
base, characteristics, goals, and resource management practices of these farmers and their communities
must be understood and appreciated.
The search for alternatives and sustainable agriculture
Many people expected the Green Revolution to solve the developing world's food problems. Essentially,
this 'revolution' involves breeding programmes for staple cereals and grains, the organization and
distribution of high levels of inputs, and the implementation of these technical innovations in the most
appropriate agro-climatic regions, by those classes of farmers most likely to realize the potential yield
(Conway and Barbier, 1988:652). Despite impressive increases in production, there have been manifest
problems concerned with equity, stability, and the sustainability of production. Indeed, Green Revolution
technology in Africa has been associated with ecological deterioration and economic decline (Brown and
Wolf, 1985:50).
The limited effectiveness of existing assistance projects aimed at agricultural development and renewable resource management reflects an inadequate understanding of tropical and subtropical environments, in particular, the diversity of the social and organizational elements involved. Yet until recently, few researchers have recognized the ecological and agro-economic advantages of practices which over the centuries have allowed farmers to maintain land fertility, through careful management of soil, water and nutrients (Wolf, 1986:12).
The current interest in sustainable development reflects the growing public concern in Northern societies, where the protection of natural resources and the maintenance of environmental quality are increasingly being seen as an integral part of economic development. A cogent definition has been offered: 'Sustainable agricultural and natural resource development means the utilization, management and conservation of the natural resource base and the orientation of technological change to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs--such as food, water, shelter, clothing and fuel--for present and future generations. Such sustainable development, which includes agriculture, forestry and fisheries, conserves genetic resources, land and water resources, is environmentally viable, and socially acceptable'. (Batie, 1989:1083; WCED, 1987b)
The US Office of Technology Assessment has characterized the most promising technologies for Africa as those which stabilize production while ensuring the conservation of natural resources, address farmer- identified problems and constraints, minimize the disruption of existing farming systems, are accessible and affordable for farmers, and are environmentally, socially, and economically feasible to maintain in the long run (OTA, 1988:104).
Local knowledge systems and agricultural development
In their efforts to assert control and direction over their lives and to safeguard their social structures,
Africa's rural people have traditionally utilized the knowledge, skills and structures which their societies
have developed in the course of centuries. Insufficient attention has been given to this local knowledge
within the mainstream of agricultural development and environmental management. It has not been
recognized as knowledge that contributes to our understanding of agricultural production and the
maintenance and use of environmental systems.
However, there is now increasing awareness of the fact that technology includes not only energy sources and tools, but also knowledge and skills, as well as social organizations that focus knowledge and power on particular tasks. Specific technologies of this type are recognized as reflecting climatic and socio- economic factors, embedded as they are in social organizations, cultural traditions and preferences, and even more fundamentally in the conceptual system in which the individual members of society have learned to think, and in terms of which they imperceptibly interpret their society and environment. (Breemer, 1989:266; Goldman, 1991).
Local knowledge is an important aspect of a society's culture of technology. Warren and Cashman (1988:1) characterize local knowledge as the sum of experience and knowledge within a given group, which forms the basis for decision-making related to familiar and unfamiliar problems and challenges. In a similar manner, Altieri (1991) defines local knowledge as the accumulated knowledge, skills and technology of the local people, derived from the direct interaction of human beings and their environment. Local knowledge systems (LKSs) consist of integrated systems of production and consumption with the following key components: organized technical knowledge, social institutions, decision-making, and the management of diverse natural resources, technology and skilled labour. LKSs are strategic resources for decision-making in societies seeking to maintain their priorities with respect to sustainable production and to preserve those elements of society which are essential for social and demographic stability, within a larger environment which is in itself being transformed (Wilson, 1991:20).
However, LKSs have their limits (Rau, 1991:159): farmers tend to know more about plants than about pests, soil chemistry and plant pathology (Bentley, 1989). Yet a remarkable array of local knowledge is being put into practice in the form of ethnoveterinary medicine (Mathias-Mundy and McCorkle, 1989). Some LKSs are responding creatively to challenges through local experimentation, innovation, adaptation and transformation under quite diverse conditions (Chambers et al, 1989). Farmers using LKSs engage in systematic experimentation--either for problem solving or out of curiosity--create new technologies, and test or adapt existing techniques and technologies (Rhoades and Bebbington, 1991).
Local practices often reflect non-Western conceptions of 'stress', 'hazards' and 'disasters'. For example, droughts and floods are viewed as naturally recurring phenomena with which people have learned to coexist. They have developed appropriate practices, such as seasonal movement for cultivation and livestock grazing, crop experimentation, selection and mixing, additional processing of food crops, supplemental activities (hunting, fishing, gathering), and changes in the social organization, including temporary population dispersal and the expansion of village exchange networks (Dei, 1990:102-5).
Successful methods of production, whether they are rooted in indigenous science or adapted from innovations introduced from outside, are shared and communicated intra-generationally and inter- generationally, both orally and by example. At the operational level, an LKS is characterized by the skilful individual, household and community management of natural resources, technologies, and labour. It encompasses central activities such as crop selection, land preparation, planting, tillage, weeding, harvesting and soil protection throughout the year. The effects of these activities work through on the underlying level, which includes the social relations of production, and individual, household and community decisions about the allocation of labour, and technology utilization (Warren, 1991:52-53).
Information and decision-making processes are rooted in the socio-economic structure, and an LKS cannot be separated from that structure (Amanor, 1991). Without due recognition for many aspects of rural social structure, there can be no full understanding or utilization of the valuable contributions of LKSs to sustainable agricultural production, nor can this contribution readily be enhanced by external support.
Challenges related to the use of local knowledge in sustainable agriculture
If 'sustainability' is to be achieved, then development approaches which, through ignorance, have
undermined local self-reliance must be replaced. In Africa, a new vision of the development process is
emerging, which reflects the complexity of the various cultures and their relationship with nature. In this
view, 'development' is not simply a project handed over to local people by agencies from developed
countries (Conway and Barbier, 1988:595), but into something in which their input plays a central role.
The local knowledge and practices of small farmers are key inputs in the continuing evolution of farming and resource management systems. Established forms of resource use that have long sustained people in fragile environments must be supported, unless and until genuinely superior forms of resource use have been developed and proven (Kotschi et al, 1989:47). Recognition of the value of local knowledge in achieving sustainable development does not imply a wholesale rejection of modern technologies in agriculture. Nor should support for the use of local knowledge be construed as a plea for an uncritical return to local technologies, when 'better' social, economic and environmental alternatives are available. A knowledge of local techniques can help to identify practices suitable for adoption or adaptation, with a view to improving or reinforcing accepted methods and procedures without destroying local environments and societies.
Agricultural researchers, policy-makers and agencies are gradually realizing that it is possible to synthesize traditional and modern insights and practices, rather than viewing them as inherently contradictory. In agricultural research and the promotion of technology, there are many different sources of innovation (farmers, practitioners, extension agencies, NGOs, private corporations, and international and national research centres). Interaction among these agents of change may challenge established concepts, stimulate critical rethinking, and identify factors which may be of interest far beyond the initial concern. (Bentley, 1989)
One of the principal objectives of research at the local level is empowerment. For this reason, it is necessary to approach farmers as full partners and collaborators in defining problems, analyzing the extent and probable causes of the problems, setting priorities, suggesting potential solutions, and testing and evaluating technologies. Enhancing the local capacity for research would permit more effective local control over the content of research and the generation and adaptation of technology. Building on local forms of social organization and processes brings with it not only greater local responsibility but also control, so that people can make effective use of their knowledge. (Farrington and Martin, 1988; Hansen and Erbaugh, 1987; Thrupp, 1989)
Dr. T. Titilola
ARCIK
NISER
PMB - UI ost Office
Ibadan
Nigeria
Tel: +234-22-400500
Fax: +234-22-416129 or +234-1-614397
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