The potential of ITK

In the past, I have noticed the similarities in West African cuisines. A lot of our dishes resemble each other or use the same ingredients. A lot of my favourite dishes include cassava yet cassava is something I eat mostly when I'm back home. While I had attributed this to cultural closeness; I have realised that the harvesting and consumption of cassava, among other crops (millet, sorghum, cowpeas and maize), can reveal a few things about African agriculture as well as the African population's adaptability to the climate and the environment. 

Cassava is a root vegetable that can provide more calories per acre of the crop than other cereals; this makes it very useful in developing African countries. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, making it an optimal solution for tropical and sub-tropical regions as it is not heavily reliant on rainfall. It is therefore a sustainable option considering rainfall variability. The FAO has deemed that in humid Central Africa, the most appropriate crop choice for the widest land area is cassava.

When I noticed the presence of cassava and cassava leaf in my favourite foods, it prompted the following question: Is the answer to Africa's food insecurity found in crop specialisation and a greater focus on indigenous technical knowledge (ITK)? ITK refers to “knowledge about the local environment that is produced, held, and used by indigenous peoples and communities” (Goldman and Lovell 2017)

I believe the prominence of crops such as maize, rice, potatoes and cassava reflect on the continent's crop specialisation  and use of ITK in order to combat food insecurity. Indeed, Africa's approach to agriculture and food production is different from places such as China and the US where there is a greater focus placed on maximum yield. Instead, agricultural communities in Africa tend to employ risk adverse strategies in order to ensure food security.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture accounts for 80.7% of freshwater use (World Bank 2017). Despite this, only 4% of crop land is irrigated. This means that African agriculture is mostly rain fed; yet, as I mentioned in my previous blogpost, Africa is characterised by its extreme climate variability.

Share of freshwater withdrawals by sector (%) in 2014

 

Despite this, communities have survived until today, with a fast population rate. This indicates how they have developed indigenous knowledge and strategies to cope with the climate and the droughts or floods that occur (Nyon  et al. 2007). Some adaptability strategies include dam constructions or rainwater harvesting in order to store seasonal flows; from an agricultural perspective, however, rain fed crops and cropping patterns are adapted to droughts (Kimmage and Adams 1992).

Looking more broadly across the continent we can observe that maize is the most important staple crop. Rice is important in Eastern and Western Africa, potatoes in Eastern and Central Africa, and cassava in Western and Eastern Africa (FAO 2016). These crops are all known to be drought tolerant but more importantly, farmers have also adapted their agricultural methods.

For example, research in Nigeria has shown that intercropping reduces risk in agriculture in the Sokoto floodplain, and has in the past displayed an "advanced level of adaptation to the natural flooding regime" (Adams 1986: 40).

ITK thus appears to be a solution that would partially reduce concerns about climate variability and water scarcity.

It is important to note, however, that although crop specialisation can be a solution to climate variability, this doesn't solve Africa's issue surrounding access to safe water. Rather, crop specialisation and indigenous technical knowledge should be incorporated into development strategies that aim to reduce food insecurity; this could encourage a more sustainable approach to agriculture.

In order to achieve this, a bottom-up approach needs to be undertaken to encourage high levels of local participation. This participation would then require an acknowledgement of local African communities' knowledge - that has been able to help them deal with past and present vulnerability. 

It is important to note however that not all indigenous practices yield high returns, this is why they need to be critically analysed.