Integrating Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge into Modern Agricultural Practices for Sustainable Rural Household Food Security in Uganda
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Date
2019
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Publisher
International Journal Of Innovative Research & Development
Abstract
Food security is a major concern of the global development Agenda as reflected in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). Globally 2 billion people are food insecure and the situation is on a rise especially
in developing countries. The Modern Agricultural Practices (MAP) being promoted have not solved the situation. The
Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge (IAK) that has sustained food production, access and utilization in developing countries is
not recognized in food security strategies. Uganda’s food security situation is alarming; nearly half of Uganda’s 7.3 million
households are food insecure. More than 90% of the food produced in Uganda is by peasant farmers and depend on IAK, but
there are no formal interventions that seek to encourage people to use it. This study was carried out in Isingiro District, South
Western Uganda in the 3 Sub Counties of Masha, Kabingo and Kabuyanda that were purposively selected. Food security is a
major challenge facing district and more than 95% of the people struggle to produce food through IAK. The implementation
of Millennium Village Project in the district did not change the situation. The study employed a case study research
methodology, but pr iority given to qualitative methods. 102 respondents were interviewed that included; farmers, local
leaders and key informants. Three Focus Group Discussions were heldin each sub-county where data collected from. The
findings indicated that the distr ict was experiencing both chronic and acute food insecurity. The main causes of food
insecurity included poverty, extended dry seasons, lack of granaries and lack of government enforcement. The IAK practices
used towards food security included terrain and soil selection, intercropping, weather forecasting, seed selection, sun drying,
use of local pesticides and control of banana bacterial wilt. The MAP used included; spraying, planting of hybrid seeds, use of
fertilizers, and preservation of beans grains using lindane dust.IAK was contr ibuting greatly towards the four pillars of food
security of availability, access, utilization and stability in the district. The study recommends that it should promoted and one
way of doing it is integrating it into MAP since it is what the majority use.Regarding integration of IAK and MAP, the study
revealed that there was a conscious integration of both and came up with a six step frame work that can be applied to
integrate IAK into MAP to ensure sustainable food security at rural house hold level in Uganda.
Description
Keywords
Food security, Indigenous agricultural knowledge, Modern agricultural practices
Citation
Rwangire, M., & Muriisa, R. K. Integrating Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge into Modern Agricultural Practices for Sustainable Rural Household Food Security in Uganda. International Journal Of Innovative Research & Development. DOI No. : 10.24940/ ijir d/ 2019/ v8/ i7/ JUL19058