Indigenous knowledge and food security: Enhancing decisions of rural farmers

There is growing awareness that indigenous knowledge contribute to sustainable development. Harnessing indigenous knowledge is key in promoting food security especially among the rural communities. The inspiration for this research was prompted by the need to enhance rural farmers’ decisions on food security using indigenous knowledge. The research was conducted in the selected areas of rural Uganda (Kabale and Mbarara) where agriculture is predominantly the major source of livelihood.
Following a design science research philosophy and an engaged scholarship paradigm, a food security decision enhancement studio (FSDES) is developed and evaluated. The FSDES provides intervention schemata to guide the CDWs as they facilitate rural farmers to enhance their decisions on food security using indigenous knowledge.
The FSDES enables farmers and stakeholders to collaborate and share knowledge that is useful for enhancing household food security. The studio consists of four suites: assessment, collaboration, communication and knowledge management. The assessment suite provides a tool for evaluating the status of food security in communities. The collaboration suite offers an interactive environment for knowledge sharing. The communication suite enables timely information exchange among farmers and experts. The knowledge management suite provides a repository of farmers’ indigenous knowledge experiences including the intervention schemata.
The FSDES was instantiated and evaluated by CDWs. Evaluation results indicate that FSDES is perceived as useful and usable in providing support to rural farmers’ decision making processes to improve food security. This research contributes to both theory and practice.