Abstract
This chapter focused on the agricultural Indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS) used in Zimbabwe with specific reference to Gutu rural district. The study relied on qualitative methodology while data was collected using key informant interviews and documentary searches. The study findings indicated that a number of AIKS systems are used in the Gutu rural district. These include pest and disease management, food/grain storage and preservation, soil fertility management, and weather prediction. This study also identified several challenges associated with the documentation of AIKS, and among others include methodology, access, intellectual property rights, and the media and formats in which to preserve knowledge. The chapter concludes that Indigenous knowledge is in danger of disappearing because of global changes, and the capacity and facilities needed to document, evaluate, validate, protect, and disseminate such knowledge are lacking in most developing countries such as Zimbabwe.
TopThe Context Of Gutu District
Gutu district is situated in Masvingo province, which is in the southern part of Zimbabwe. The district is divided into five distinct settlement demarcation namely; the old resettlement, newly resettled, small-scale farmers, and communal and urban areas covering 369 744 hectares of land (Agriculture, Technical and Extension Services Department, Gutu, 2011). The district is generally dry; with conditions ranging from arid to semi-arid (Muchineripi, 2011). In terms of climatic regions, the district falls into natural regions 3, 4, and 5, characterized by a rainfall pattern that ranges from normal, to below average per annum. Areas under natural region 3 receive normal rains, enough for productive agriculture, while regions 4 and 5, comprising the greater part of the district, experience droughts, resulting in hunger and poverty due to general food shortages (Agriculture, Technical and Extension Services Department, Gutu, 2011). The district has faced perpetual challenges of droughts over the years and as such, it generated interest in the researcher to try and establish whether the use of indigenous knowledge can help in alleviating food shortages, mainly caused by incessant droughts. Apart from the shortage of food, Gutu district is gradually drifting toward desertification due to ongoing deforestation, siltation of rivers and dams, and limited pastures for grazing animals (Wutete, 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Knowledge Management (KM): This is the process of gathering, managing and sharing employees’ knowledge capital throughout the organisation.
Decision-Making: This is a cognitive or social process of selecting a course of action from among several alternative possibilities on the values and preferences of the decision maker(s).
A Farming System: This can be defined as a unique and reasonable stable arrangement of farming enterprises that the house hold manages according to well defined practices in response to physical, biological and socio- economic conditions and with accordance to household’s goals, preferences and available resources.
Food Security: This is a situation when all people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
Indigenous Knowledge (IK): This can be described as the knowledge that has been developed over time in a community mainly through accumulation of experiences and intimate understanding of the environment in a given culture.