Indigenous Technical Knowledge based Rainfall Prediction: A Review

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) is the actual knowledge of a given population that reflects the experiences based on tradition and includes more recent experiences with modern technologies. Traditionally, farmers have used traditional knowledge to understand weather and climate patterns in order to make decisions about crop and irrigation cycles. This knowledge has been gained through many decades of experience and has been passed on from previous generations. The present study was undertaken with the objective of collection and documenting the indigenous technical knowledge of farmers regarding rainfall prediction based on abiotic and biotic factors which is being practiced generation after generation. Here in this paper an effort has been made to collect the abiotic and biotic factors predicting rainfall, as a part of ICAR sponsored NASF ad-hoc research project entitled “Developing climate resilient adaptive strategies for empowerment of farmers” which has been implemented in University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad from 2019 to 2022. Various indigenous technical knowledge are collected by analyzing the journals and newsletters, deep interaction with the farmers of study area, contacting the local resource persons and documenting oral histories without scientific validation. The study found that traditional methods of rainfall forecasting can be utilized for the purpose of short-term and long-term seasonal rainfall predictions by local communities. All available abiotic and biotic indigenous rainfall forecasting techniques may serve as alternative to modern technologies.

Traditional Piscicidal Knowledge along the Chakpi River and other Water Bodies in Chandel District, Manipur State : Past and Present Scenario

The present study was undertaken with an aim to expound the various indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) practices centring around the stagnant or semi-stagnant water bodies in Chandel district of Manipur. The prevailing indigenous practices were considered and only three groups of indigenous practices were found to be rational in the present scenario which could be further assessed, documented and propagated for the benefit of farming community. The three group of indigenous practices involve the age-old methods of stupefying the fish in ponds or rivers using tree barks, roots and leaves of specific trees or plants having ichthyotoxic properties. Two filters were applied to identify the ITKs. The first filter being rationality therein only ITK practices having rationality score more than 2.4 being explained in the study. The second filter was mean perceived effectiveness index (MPEI). Of the 17 practices evaluated, 3 were rational (42.08%) while the remaining 14 were rejected as irrational (57.92%). The perceived effectiveness and adoption rate analysis of these age-old ITKs indicated that, the traditional use of stupefying barks was rated as rational (3.01), perceived as highly effective (2.60) and adopted by 78 per cent of the respondents whereas on the lower end, the method incorporating the juice extract of ichthyotoxic leaves was rated as rational (2.48), perceived as effective (1.9) and adopted by 48 per cent of respondents.

A Study on Adoption of Indigenous Technical Knowledge Practices among Tribal Farmers in Kolli Hills

Objectives: To make a quantitative study of Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) practices pertinent to crops grown in Kolli hills tribes in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu, India. Methods: The attempt was made to study the adoption level of the interpreted ITKs among Kolli hills tribes. The Kolli hill was picked purposively for its uniqueness in continuing their traditions age old practices in farming practices by the tribes. The present study has been carried out in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu state. The Namakkal district was administratively divided into seven taluks and fifteen blocks. Among these seven taluks and fifteen blocks, higher populations of tribes were seen at Kolli hills. For the selection of the respondents based on the proportionate random sampling technique and the data were collected from each respondent through personal interview method. The study was carried during 2019 with 150 respondents in highly populated villages of Kolli hills. The Adoption index was used to analyse the adoption level of the ITK’s by the tribes. Findings: More than half of the respondents (55.56 per cent) had a medium level of knowledge followed by high (25.10 per cent) and low (19.34 per cent) levels of knowledge on indigenous cultivation practices. Conclusion: Indigenous technical knowledge has a substantial heritage in agrarian civilization. The findings highlight the effectiveness of indigenous technical knowledge above its modern equivalent. Thus, extension workers should identify and incorporate them in the technology transfer action in order to ensure long-term or sustainable agricultural development.

Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Plant Disease Management

The origins of indigenous technical/traditional knowledge are local, rural &community. It's utilised in forecasting of weather for better seed germination, soil, water, and soil fertility management, disease and insect pest control of plants & animals, and post-harvest management, among other things. India has a variety of indigenous agricultural practises which are still popular in organic agriculture in India's many states and are sustainable, environment friendly, profitable, and cost-effective. This review paper contains an overview of Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Plant Disease Management to help researchers in the future.

Socio-personal and Economic Profile of Tribal Farmers Practicing Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Ranchi district of Jharkhand

The present study has been undertaken during 2019-2020 to appraise the socio-personal and economic profile of tribal farmers of Ranchi district of Jharkhand. Four villages were randomly selected from the two purposively selected blocks namely Tamar and Angara blocks of Ranchi district of Jharkhand state. The data were collected from 45 randomly selected tribal farmers practicing ITKs pertaining to pest and disease management by personal interviewing the respondents through a well tested structured interview schedule, who were considered as tribal key informants. The findings revealed that majority of the key informants were females (60%) belonging to old age group (71.11%) of Oraon community (46.66%). Majority of the respondents had education upto primary level only (31.12%), whereas about 30 per cent of them were either illiterate or could read and write only. Highest proportion of the key informants had marginal size of land holding with long farming experience (57.78%). Altogether one-third of the respondents had membership of only one organisation and 42.22 per cent of them were not associated with any formal organisation. Majority of the respondents had low level of risk-orientation (57.77%) and innovativeness (60%). Interventions on education, training and technology were suggested as the suitable measures for raising their socio-economic status.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION AND KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE (ITK) BY RURAL FARM FAMILIES IN SAMPATCHAK BLOCK IN PATNA DISTRICT OF BIHAR

The present study was conducted in Patna District of Bihar to find out the association between socio-economic condition and knowledge level of rural farm families regarding indigenous technical knowledge. A total of 120 respondents were selected randomly for the present study. The data were collected through a pre-structured interview schedule and appropriate statistical analysis was done to find out the association. It was found that age, mass media exposure and extension contacts were found to be highly significant with relation to knowledge of the rural farm families regarding indigenous technical knowledge whereas land holding was found to be mildly related.

Thinking beyond the pond - promoting livelihoods analysis and approaches for aquaculture development.

Traditionally, development professionals have considered 'lack of technical knowledge' to be a significant constraint to rural development through aquaculture (as well as through other technical disciplines). However, evidence increasingly shows the enormous store of 'indigenous technical knowledge' present in remote, rural communities, although this knowledge is still often undervalued or ignored by 'outside' developers. Gradually this is changing as approaches based on understanding and supporting the lives and livelihoods of people in communities are being increasingly adopted, but building capacity in technical line agencies to work in this way is an enormous undertaking. 'Thinking beyond the pond' is about a pilot project promoting approaches to development involving aquaculture that include learning about livelihoods approaches. With support from a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific-Support to Regional Aquatic Resources Management (NACA-STREAM) Initiative is training national livelihoods teams in a number of countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region and facilitating livelihoods analysis and approaches that aim to benefit poor and vulnerable aquatic resource users.

Documentation of Indigenous Technical Knowledge and Their Application in Pest Management in Western Mid Hill of Nepal

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) are based on the experiences of the local people being passed on from one generation to next and has been used for management of pest since ancient times. A study was conducted to collect and document the ITK and their application in pest management from indigenous communities in western mid hill of Nepal. A total sample size of seventy-five respondents from the indigenous communities of Magar, Gurung, and Newar in Tanahun, Lamjung and Kaski districts of Nepal were interviewed with a semi structured questionnaire. The study revealed that subsistence farmers and semi commercial farmers usually made the most use of ITK while commercial farmers rarely used such indigenous knowledge. Use of ITK was highest (85%) by the subsistence farmers, followed by semi-commercial farmers (60%), and lowest (10%) by commercial farmers in pest management. The transfer of ITK was mostly found to be through past generations. The indigenous technological knowledge being applied in pest management should be documented, promoted, and encouraged in combination with scientific knowledge among the farming communities. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 251-261 (2020)