Implications of Indigenous Knowledge in Small-Scale Farming for Rural Agricultural Development in Amhara National Regional State, Awi Zone: The Case of Guangua Woreda

Abstract

Abstract Indigenous knowledge provides the basis for local-level decision-making about many fundamental aspects of day-to-day life. As most of the rural people’s subsistence is emanated from agriculture, it properly comprises the largest collection of indigenous practices in its sectors such as crop production, soil and water conservation and livestock production. Ethiopia is the origin of the variety of indigenous crops and diverse farming practices which have potentials to boost agricultural production. A growing awareness of the value of indigenous knowledge has prompted calls for its use within agricultural development. However, indigenous knowledge is still misrepresented in agricultural development intervention programs in Ethiopia, due to lack of the scholarly conducted researches which can provide information as base for policy formulation. Consequently, this research investigated the implications of indigenous knowledge in in small scale farming for rural agricultural development in Amhara National Regional State in the case of Guangua woreda. To this effort, mixed research approach has been employed. The combination of the two methods is important to obtain accurate and realistic picture of information by overcoming possible shortcomings of using each method alone. The research was concurrent in terms of design in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected correspondingly and has been triangulated during analysis. Purposive sampling technique has been employed to select the study areas and participants for qualitative approach. While systematic random sampling technique has been used to select respondents for survey. Sample size for survey has been determined by using proportional random sampling technique. Totally, 407 participants were selected for both qualitative and quantitative data collections. The data has been collected through observation, survey, FGD, KII and document analysis. The collected data were analyzed based on methods used to generate. Accordingly, qualitative data were analyzed via thematic analysis while quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive and inferential statistics. This study identified that, farmers of the study area has developed indigenous soil fertility status indicators of their farm lands. In doing so, farmers have been using soil fertility conservation mechanisms such as cutting canal, unplowed strips and stone bunds/terracing if they found their fertility status is high. While they have been using indigenous soil fertility improvement mechanism like manure, dung, crop residue, fallowing, mixed cropping and crop rotation if they consider their land fertility status is low. Manure was rated as to be important than other soil fertility improvement mechanisms. Likewise, cutting canal was rated as the most important soil fertility conservation mechanism. It was also explored that, as farmers have developed various indigenous techniques to control crop herbs and pests which has comparative advantage over modern techniques. In spite of this, the majority of respondents 73.7% have used modern pest/weed protection techniques due to different constraints’. As 51.6% of the respondents identified, the main source of information regarding indigenous agricultural knowledge is community via traditional ways knowledge transfer. Despite potentials to be utilized for boosting rural agricultural development, development agent’s misperception, little academic coverage and agricultural policy related problems were extracted as challenges that have been facing IAK. To harness the strengths of the both knowledge systems for enhanced rural agricultural development, the study suggested that establishing participatory on farm research center and multiple evidence base approach as ways of integrating IAK with modern knowledge.