IK AND FOOD SECURITY, AMPLIFIED BY ICT POSSIBILITIES

By Francis J., Mwale M. and Zuwarimwe J.

Centre for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation, UNIVEN

IKS Awareness Day, Vuwani Science Centre

April 13, 2023 1

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

• Definition of IK, food security and ICT

• Interface between IK and food security

• Why amplify IK and food security?

• How ICT has been used to link IK and food security

• ConclusionApril 13, 2023 2

DEFINITIONS

• IK-local knowledge unique to a given culture or society• Uses

• facilitate communication and decision making to maintain and improve community livelihoods• Management of natural resources• Maintain and improve Agriculture and Food

Security systems• Animal husbandry e.g. ethnic veterinary medicine

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DEFINITIONS…• Food Security-access to enough food all the time (World

Food Summit, 1996; FAO, 2003 )• Considered at Global, regional, National and intra-

household level • Key pillars

• Availability, safety/health• Accessibility• Nutrient needs and food preferences• Affordability and culturally acceptable

• Threatened by poverty, war, technology, transportation, contamination, policies, unsustainable development, climate change

April 13, 2023 4

DEFINITIONS…

• ICT-appropriate tools for knowledge harvesting, retrieving and storage and conveying or sharing

• Should be relevant in amplifying IK and Food Security

• Use of:• Ipad Technology• Cell phones• Smart cards• GPS• Internet• Wireless radios

April 13, 2023 5

INTERFACE BETWEEN IK AND FOOD SECURITY

• Local knowledge in pest and parasite control• Seed and animal breeding• Post-harvest technology• Knowledge on some local foodstuffs that could avert

some food security challenges• IK for predicting drought - phenology• Local knowledge in pooling together of labour and

resources• Fuel and natural resources management• IK for assuring food security

April 13, 2023 6

NEED TO AMPLIFY IK AND FOOD SECURITY

• What is amplifying?• Intensifying or magnifying the use of IK to a wider spectrum of

stakeholders with respect to food security issues

• Why amplify?• Creating awareness and advocacy• Sharing knowledge within and across communities• Interrogation of IK to identify opportunities for further

development• Change people’s perceptions, mindsets or attitudes• Reduce possibility of extinction of IKS• Profile people with knowledge and safeguard it• Clarify that it’s not inferior to western knowledge systems• Identify research opportunities• Appropriate and timely targeting development relief

April 13, 2023 7

NEED TO AMPLIFY IK AND FOOD SECURITY…• For whom?

• For local communities in which the bearers of IK reside• Early warning system for the Government• Government to make appropriate policies or review

existing policies that address food insecurity and IKS• NGOs which deal with food security and disaster

management• Development agencies that deal with food security

assurance programmes• International organizations that deal with food

security issues• Higher education and research institutions

April 13, 2023 8

HOW CAN ICTS LINK IK AND FOOD SECURITY?• Permaculture project-training-website (Internet)

• IPUF in South Africa

• To what extent can IPad technology help amplify food security?

• Can ICTs help improve coordination of government response and support through Multi-purpose Community Centres?

• What role can ICTs play in enhancing early warning?

• Use of cell phone by smallholder farmers to get prices for their produce, information to get food

April 13, 2023 9

HOW CAN ICTS LINK IK AND FOOD SECURITY?

• Pay phones to get information about availability and prices of food stuffs between communities

• Wireless system for communicating farmer activities

• GIS: calculating and locating household vulnerability to food security (FANRPAN; World Vision and CRDPA)

• Community granary (Dzunde) practice -link ICTs with support for the vulnerable

• Community institutions-for managing IK April 13, 2023 10

CONCLUSIONS

• Considerable challenges in amplifying IK for food security programmes– Improving visibility and acceptance of IK– Need to acknowledge IK bearers– Recognising and protecting intellectual property rights

• Need to improve dialogue among the players in food security (households, government, global)

• Need for appropriate ICTs that amplify IK and Food security

April 13, 2023 11

Thank you

April 13, 2023 12