THE RELEVANCE OF LOCAL AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FOR NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE

1. THE RELEVANCE OF LOCAL AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FOR NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE N.O. ADEDIPE DEPARTMENT OF CROP PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN, NIGERIA. P.A. OKUNEYE & I.A. AYINDE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND FARM MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA.

2. PRESENTED AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BRIDGING SCALES & EPISTEMOLOGIES: LINKING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE WITH GLOBAL SCIENCE IN MULTI-SCALE ASSESSMENTS, ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT; MARCH 16-19, 2004.

3. THE NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE BELONGS TO LOW-RESOURCE OR RESOURCE-POOR CATEGORY CHARACTERIZED BY SMALL FARM UNITS, FRAGILE SOILS, RAIN DEPENDENCY AND MINIMUM INPUTS.

4. DESPITE THE DOMINANCE OF MINERAL OIL EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION AS THE CURRENT MAINSTAY OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY IN TERMS OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS, THE AGRIC-ULTURAL SECTOR REMAINS THE LARGEST, CONTRIBUTING 37% OF THE GDP AND EMPLOYING 65% OF THE ADULT LABOUR FORCE.

5. IN ADDITION TO ITS PIVOTAL ROLE IN MEETING THE FOOD AND FIBRE NEEDS OF A LARGE AND GROWING POPULATION OF 120 MILLION (2-3% GROWTH RATE), IT PROVIDES THE RAW MATERIALS FOR THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL SECTOR; AND IS THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR (88%) TO NON-OIL FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS.

6. SIGNIFICANTLY, OVER 90% OF NIGERIA’S AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT IS BY SMALL SCALE (<5HA), RESOURCE-POOR FARMERS WHO HAVE, FOR AGES, SUSTAINED THE NATIONAL FOOD SUPPLY.

7. OVER TIME, THESE FARMERS HAVE ACQUIRED CONSIDERABLE WEALTH OF ENVIRONMENT-RELATED IK IN THE HARNESSING OF NATURAL, AND IN THE MANIPULATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC, FACTORS OF PRODUCTION.

8. SUCH KNOWLEDGE IN THESE EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES ARE EVIDENTLY RELATED TO THE GLOBAL SCIENCE TRAITS OF CONSERVATION; BIODIVERSITY MAINTENANCE; PLANT PHYSIOLOGICAL, PLANT PATHOLOGICAL AND ENTOMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF CROP PROTECTION AND PEST MANAGEMENT.

9. AGAINST LOW AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND PRODUCTIVITY IN DEVELOPING NATIONS (INCLUDING NIGERIA), AND DESPITE THE SEEMINGLY ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE-POOR FARMING, THERE IS THE NEED FOR MODERNIZATION BUT THIS MUST BE ACHIEVED THROUGH GLOBAL SCIENCE INTERVENTION.

10. HOWEVER, SUCH INTERVENTION MUST RECOGNIZE THE RICH IK RESOURCE BASE OF LOW PRODUCTIVITY AGRICULTURE. IT IS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND THAT, IN THE LAST TWENTY YEARS OR THERE-ABOUT, SOME RECOGNITION HAS BEEN ACCORDED CERTAIN ASPECTS OF IK, REFLECTED IN AGRO-FORESTRY, FARMING SYSTEMS, MIXED CROPPING, ALLEY FARMING, ETC.

11. THERE IS MUCH MORE TO BE LEARNED, HENCE WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROFILE OF IK IN THESE COUNTRIES. THE BIG QUESTIONS ARE: • WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE? • WHY DO THEY BELIEVE SO? • WHAT IS THEIR ATTITUDE TO CHANGE? • HOW DO INTRODUCED CHANGES RELATE TO THEIR SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES WHICH THEY, NATURALLY, TEND TO PROTECT? • SHOULD THE INTRODUCED CHANGES BE BY “INTEGRATION” OR BY “COORDINATION”?

12. TO ANSWER SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS, UNEP COMMISSIONED A STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO COMPARE IK ABOUT FARMING PRACTICES VIS-À-VIS MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION.

13. IN THIS REGARD, THE CRUCIAL QUESTIONS ARE: • HOW FAR DO SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS DOMINATE THE FARMERS’ COLLECTIVE THOUGHTS AND WAYS OF LIFE? • WHAT HAS BEEN THE TREND AMONG NIGERIAN FARMERS WHO RELY ON IK WITH MINIMUM INEVITABLE USE OF EXTERNAL INPUTS VIS–A-VIS THOSE WHO USE FAIRLY LARGE QUANTITIES OF EXTERNAL INPUTS (FERTILIZERS, FUNGICIDES, INSECTICIDES AND HERBICIDES)?

14. THIS IS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND THAT THE USE OF AGRO-CHEMICALS IS VERY LOW.

15. THE STUDY ADOPTED THE RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL METHOD, USING QUESTIONNAIRES IN A HOUSEHOLD SURVEY FORMAT, USING 100 FARMERS IN THE 2 LOCATIONS IN OGUN STATE OF NIGERIA

16. THIS WAS COMPLEMENTED WITH FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS WITH RESPONDENTS AND KEY INFORMANTS BY WAYS OF COMMUNITY LEADERS AND CBOs. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS ARE THAT 88% OF THE FARMERS PRACTICED MIXED CROPPING WITH A DIVERSE NUMBER OF CROP COMBINATIONS.

17. Fig. 1. Stubble mulching on a vegetable farm in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria.

18. Fig. 2. Intercropping of cereal with a legume in a local farm of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria

19. Fig. 3. Intercropping of a broad-leaf vegetable with short duration narrow-leaf vegetable experiment in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria.

20. Fig. 4. Alley cropping of a tree crop with an arable crop in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria.

21. OTHER MAJOR FINDINGS: • MIXED CROPPING LED TO 26% RISE IN TOTAL CROP OUTPUT • 32% RISE IN PROFIT FOR THE COWPEA FARMERS • THERE WERE ECONOMIES IN LABOUR AND PESTICIDE USE • MINIMIZATION OF CROP LOSS AS COMPARED WITH SOLE CROPPING

22. THE INTRODUCTION OF AGRO-CHEMICALS SWAYED THE FARMERS TO ADOPTION, GIVEN THE DRAMATIC EFFECTS OBSERVED • THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF AGRO-CHEMICALS FOR CROP PROTECTION, SUCH AS HIGH COST AND ADULTERATION, HEALTH HAZARDS, HIGH UNIT COST RELATIVE TO POVERTY LEVEL AMONG THE FARMERS, CAUSED REVERSION TO THE USE OF INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGIES IN ARABLE CROP PRODUCTION, PARTICULARLY WITH COWPEAS (VIGNA UNGUICULATA) AS CASE CROP.

23. WHILE 47% OF THE FARMERS USED INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE EXCLUSIVELY, 30% COMBINED IT WITH THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY OF CROP PROTECTION, WHILE 23% USED ONLY AGRO-CHEMICALS. • THE PERCENTAGE OF FARMERS THAT ADOPTED INDIGENOUS CROPPING PRACTICES: RELAY INTERCROPPING, 86%; MULTIPLE CROPPING, 64%; CROP ROTATION, 75%; BUSH FALLOW, 100%. • IN TERMS OF FIELD CROP PROTECTION, 25% OF FARMERS SPRAYED PLANTS WITH CHILLI PEPPER CAPSICUM ANNUM, WHILE 50% USED NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA) EXTRACTS.

24. FOR COWPEA STORAGE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, 95% OF THE FARMERS SAMPLED STORED THE SEEDS BY MIXING WITH DRIED CHILLI (CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS), USUALLY IN THE RATIO OF 40 KG COWPEA TO 0.5-1.0 KG DRIED CHILLI. NEEM ASH AND CROP RESIDUE ASH WERE ALSO IN FREQUENT USE (35-50% OF THE FARMERS). • SIMILAR RESULTS WERE GENERALLY OBTAINED FOR COCOA PRODUCTION.

25. LINKING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE WITH GLOBAL SCIENCE: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. • BASICALLY, THE MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT (MA) IS AIMED AT THE MANAGEMENT OF ECOSYSTEMS THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF VIABLE POLICY OPTIONS FOR DECISION-MAKING TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT AND SUSTENANCE OF HUMAN WELL-BEING.

26. DESPITE THE UNQUESTIONABLE BENEFITS, IK CANNOT, ON ITS OWN MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE DEMANDS OF CROP PRODUCTION. • THE QUESTION IS: HOW CAN THE BENEFITS OF GLOBAL SCIENCE AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY RUB ON IK IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE MA?

27. HUMAN • WELL-BEING (MILLENNIUM GOALS) • Food Security • Nutritional Quality • Health • Employment • PovertyReduction Z A FORMAL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE Environment –conscious Socio-cultural Neutrality • INDIGENOUS • KNOWLEDGE • Environment -conscious • Socio-cultural Beliefs • Religious/Mythical Values Hybrid (Indigeno-Scientific) Knowledge Short-Term Universal Orientation Community Orientation Coordination Mechanism (Complementary) Fig. 7 Epistemological Inputs and Linkages Towards Sustainable Agricultural Research and Development Capabilities Adedipe, 2004 IT IS HERE BEING PROPOSED THAT THERE IS NEED FOR A SYSTEMATIC HYBRIDIZATION STRATEGY, THE PROCESS OF WHICH IS BRIEFLY DESCRIBED BELOW. Integration Mechanism A • ECOSYSTEM • FRAME • Services • Drivers • Policy • Options • Decision- • making Long-Term

28. BY THIS SUGGESTED APPROACH, HUMAN WELL-BEING, ALONG THE LINES OF THE MILLENNIUM GOALS, CAN BE GUARANTEED AND SUSTAINED FOR A STABLE AND SECURE WORLD INBUED WITH FOOD SECURITY, GOVERNED BY ACCESSIBILITY, DESIRABLE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY HEALTHY LIVING, GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION.

29. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT, ACCORDING TO CHAMBERS ET AL (1989), AND AS OF THE 1980s, RESOURCE-POOR FARMING AFFECTED 1.4 BILLION PEOPLES OF ASIA, LATIN AMERICA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA! • THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION