because they once formed part of the staple food of Andean civilizations. ... Other important crops include faba beans, peas, Andean tubersâolluco, mashua ...
Relevance of Indigenous/Local Knowledge: Its Importance to Food Security
1. INTRODUCTION •
•
Isabel A. Gutierrez-Montes and Edith Fernández-Baca
Awareness of indigenous/local knowledge (IK/LK) has been steadily gaining ground in the
2.
cope with poverty.
academic world, within social and natural sciences.
North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD)
• In the Oaxaca region, farmers frequently culti-
We argue that IK/LK is the starting point in the “construction” of an alternative agricultural
Iowa State University, Department of Sociology, Ames, Iowa, USA
vate more than one land race to protect themselves from drought and low yields, as well as to
science. •
In Mexico, researchers from CIMMYT have found a broad diversity of maize that helps local farmers
fulfill different needs: animal feed and tastier
Truly alternative agriculture “would move farmers into knowledge creators” (Flora 1992-95). In
tortillas (Guenette, 2000) (Photograph 4, right).
order to achieve “truly just and sustainable agriculture,” it is necessary to recognize that knowledge has multiple sources (Flora 1992, Kloppenburg 1992).
2. DEFINITION We use the combined term indigenous/local knowledge (IK/LK). According to Warren and McKiernan, “Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is local knowledge—knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society” (1949: 427).
4. REACTIONS FROM R&D INSTITUTIONS
6. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES FROM LATIN AMERICA
• Within the scientific world, IK/LK has not been taken seriously. It has been totally ignored for
3.
communities of Cerrito and Concepcion in Santander Department, seek agro food security through the
many years by research and development (R&D) institutions. Generally, any innovations,
There are clear examples of in situ conservation in Latin
improvements or technological breakthroughs made by indigenous people were considered to be
American countries:
recovery of ancestral seeds and establishment of communal in situ germplasm banks.
accidental or as result of trial and error. • Scientists involved in participatory research at R&D institutions are now learning from farmers and starting to reconsider the process of technology generation and transfer. Farmers’ knowledge
In the Eastern mountain range of Colombia, the
• Communities included in these banks: 41 potato varieties, five bean varieties, six faba bean varieties, 1.
five wheat varieties, and two Quinua varieties among others (Gueiler Vargs, member of the Cerrito
Biodiversity fairs in various Andean regions of
community, personal communication).
Peru (since the 1980s).
must be used in identification and prioritization of research issues.
3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES Several works have been calling attention to the issue of appropriation of indigenous knowledge: •
Bio-piracy
•
Patenting of life-forms
•
Intellectual property protection
Examples of bio-piracy include: •
Patent of several varieties of “Quinua Andina” registered by Colorado State University;
•
“Yacon” or “Jacon,” an Andean plant claimed by Japan.
Both species are considered among what has been dubbed “las semillas perdidas,” or “lost seeds,” because they once formed part of the staple food of Andean civilizations. Now with the globalization trends, they are losing ground and importance in the local diet.
• Large arrays, not only of crops, but also of
5. RECOGNITION & INCORPORATION OF IK/LK • There is an explicit recognition of the importance of IK/LK in R&D. • Throughout the research process, R&D institu-
diversity within these crops have been observed
7. CONCLUSIONS/IMPACTS
(Photograph 2, right). • Most exhibited crop observed: potato (native and
•
IK/LK supports the survival of cultural and biological diversity. Communities throughout the world still sow different varieties of seeds in the same field so that if pests or weather conditions are severe,
improved); most common crop: maize (51 different variety names were identified)
some seeds will survive, and their harvest is partially saved (Photograph 5, below).
• Other important crops include faba beans, peas, Andean tubers—olluco, mashua and oca (Photograph 3, below), and pulses (Scurrah et al., 1999) (Figure 1, below). •
The key role of local communities at this point is
tions have been using not only IK/LK to study
in situ conservation, but this may be the most
seeds and germplasm, but also to understand
imperiled. We must consider that in situ conserva-
agronomical practices and cultural acceptance
tion is related with biological diversity, which is linked
(Scurrah, personal communication) (Photograph
with knowledge, innovations and practices.
1, right). •
IK/LK must be taken into account as a starting point for the construction of an alternative agricultural science (Flora 1992, Kloppenburg 1991) where needs and knowledge of communities are part of the object of new alternative agricultural science.
