The contribution of indigenous agro-biodiversity knowledge management practices for improving livelihoods of local communities: a case study of Masasi and Nachingwea districts in Tanzania
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Date
2016
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Publisher
Dar es Salaam University
Abstract
The study was conducted in Lindi (Nachingwea district) and Mtwara (Masasi
district) to investigate and document existing indigenous knowledge practices on
management of agro-biodiversity and show how Nonaka and Konnos’ 1998 KM
model (Socialization. Extcrnalization. Combination and Internalization (SECI)) can
be applied to manage indigenous knowledge related to agro-biodiversity in local
communities. Combined with Adapted Sustainable Livelihood model, the study also
sought to investigate how such knowledge contributes to livelihoods of local
communities.
This study employed a mixed research design, using cross-sectional and case study
designs. The study population was drawn from small holder farmers, village leaders,
and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) intermediaries. Purposive sampling was used to
select districts, villages, key informants and participants for Focus Group
Discussions (FGD). Systematic sampling was used to select heads of households.
Their names were picked from the village government register. The total sample for
this study was 230 heads of households. 16 key informants (village leaders), 4
indigenous knowledge intermediaries (extension and forest officers) and 80
participants from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). A Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) software Version 16.0 was used to generate frequencies and
percentages. Quantitative data was analyzed quantitatively. Qualitative data was
analyzed using content analysis. Key findings revealed that local communities
possess a wide range of indigenous knowledge on soil fertility, intercropping, seed
storage, cultivation methods, moisture preservation, and crop preservation.
Findings further revealed that fire, fallow and buffer zones are used to demarcate
protected areas and village by laws to guide land usage. Findings further revealed
that farmers rely heavily on tacit knowledge as opposed to recorded knowledge. The
study concluded that farmers create new knowledge through face-to-face and group
interactions, folklore, carvings and initiation rites and that IK is largely transferred
through oral tradition and demonstrations and is preserved in human minds. The
study recommends that KM practices on management of agro-biodiversity should be
the responsibility of communities, village authorities, public and private sectors and
that the government and private agro-biodiversity actors should foster KM practices
on management of agro-biodiversity by engaging communities in the identification,
mapping, dissemination and preservation of IK and should conduct user studies to
determine areas for intervention. These will help local communities to sustain their
farming systems and hence ensure their livelihoods.
Description
PhD Thesis
Keywords
Agro-biodiversity, Livelihoods, Local Communities, Contribution of indigenous