Traditional and Western knowledge systems used by smallholders

Harnessing synergies for improved household food security in rural Ghana

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21363775
AutoresMichael Pervarah (0000-0003-3831-8922, Department of African and Endogenous Studies, SD Dombo University of Business & Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana, autor correspondente), Joseph Awetori Yaro (0000-0002-2701-3253, Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Accra City Campus, Accra, Ghana), Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile (0000-0001-6215-9090, Department of Planning, SD Dombo University of Business & Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana)
Ano2023
Volume77
Fascículo5
Páginas296-309
Data de publicação2023-10-20
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoNorsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0029-1951 • E-ISSN: 1502-5292
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00291951.2023.2289516
OpenAlexW4389807997
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas25

The discourse on knowledge integration persists in research and development practice. The need for traditional and Western knowledge systems to work together to achieve sustainable agricultural development in Ghana’s rural areas has become evermore relevant to achieve household food security in the context of changing climate, declining soil fertility, and labour challenges. The authors examined the role of knowledge integration in shaping the food security outcomes of socially differentiated smallholders’ households in Kassena-Nankana Municipal District and the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region of Ghana, where food insecurity prevalence is very high. Using mixed methods approach, they found that most low resource endowed households that were unable to combine traditional and Western farming methods were more likely to experience food insecurity than were other households. Farmers with higher resource endowments integrated knowledges from both traditional and Western systems leading to better yield outcomes. However, combining both knowledge systems did not guarantee automatic success due to intervening factors. The authors conclude that different categories of smallholders’ resource endowment significantly impacts the smallholders’ food security status, and recommend that policy and development programming should promote integration of traditional and Western farming knowledge systems to achieve sustainable food crop production

Agricultural economics · Agricultural science · Agriculture · Business · Computer security · Economics · Food security · Geography · Natural resource economics · Security system · Agricultural Innovations and Practices · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Computer Science · Environmental Science · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion