Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3.
Systemic nature
: The TK for soil management is not monolithic but diverse
and dynamic, varying from community to community and in time in
response to the external forces. Its evolution is inextricably linked to the
changing social and economic needs of the communities and, implicitly, the
reigning economic growth and development theories. As such, if the utility
of TK is to be increased to contribute to sustainable soil management, its
study must take into account the various constructs of development theory
and conceptualization of management-social-ecological resilience, com-
munity resilience, and soil resilience.
4.
Livelihood connectedness
: Humans and communities interact with eco-
systems in such a way to maintain long-term sustainable resource yields
(Ostrom 1990). For the survival of communities whose livelihoods are
dependent on soil, communities must efficiently and effectively create,
locate, capture, and share their TK and expertise and have the ability to
bring that knowledge to bear on problems and opportunities. Ostrom's work
has considered how societies have developed diverse institutional arrange-
ments for managing natural resources and avoiding ecosystem collapse in
many cases, even though some arrangements have failed to prevent resource
exhaustion.
The polycentric approach to livelihoods postulates that the farmer's
practices at any time are inexplicably interwoven with the technological,
social, economic development. It is a reflection of the pooling of all knowl-
edge (traditional and nontraditional) deemed relevant to withstand the chal-
lenges. The external pressures on soil to meet the increasing demands for
food, feed, fiber, and fuel cause changes under some circumstances exceed-
ing its ability to recover using available knowledge in the community. The
ability of soil to absorb the pressure at any given time depends on the aggre-
gate utilization of knowledge.
5.
Dynamism
: Innovation is commonly triggered by a desire to escape from
poverty and meet increasing demands for food, feed, and fiber. Thus, rural
innovation is usually linked to production and economic (market) oppor-
tunity. When land is put to use, it gradually experiences external pressures
(e.g., erosion, salinization, nutrient mining, burning), causing progressive
diminution in soil fertility. In order to maintain the demands, farmers have
to continuously adapt. As such, TK is dynamic, responding to the exter-
nal forces. The strategy is to take such innovative thinking and practices,
understanding innovation, stimulating it, and adding value through combin-
ing with SK and then using a form of farmer-to-farmer horizontal transfer.
6.
Sensitivity to context
: Since TK is generated through observations, com-
munication, interpretation, and actions of cause and effect in specific
environments, it may not necessarily be directly transferred for appli-
cation to another area. A very clear example is the use of names like
Eitela (Toroma, Uganda) and Itongo (Iteja, Tanzania), which in principle
are used as land use descriptions but initially caused confusion with soil
types at the beginning of the study (Payton et al. 2003). Both mean an
area in the uplands in which several soil types can occur. For example,
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