- Title
- Indigenous knowledge for agricultural development: a framework for potato farming in Bui division, North West Region of Cameroon
- Creator
- Ngek, Shillie Peter
- Subject
- Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Cameroon -- Bui
- Subject
- Agricultural industries -- Cameroon
- Subject
- Sustainable agriculture
- Subject
- Sustainable development
- Subject
- Indigenous peoples
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- DBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33703
- Identifier
- vital:32974
- Description
- Over the years, people have planned and carried out their activities depending on their indigenous knowledge base. In agriculture, documented importance of indigenous knowledge has been noted in different ways such as in crop health management, soil nutrient management, and food processing and food preservation. Indigenous smallholder farmers across the world have developed techniques that reflect their intimate knowledge of their local environments and ecosystems to improve their agricultural yields and minimise postharvest losses. However, such indigenous knowledge techniques are rarely documented or enhanced to boost agricultural practice and ensure food security. The present study has identified potato farming in Cameroon as a potential contributor to the socio-economic development of farmers, their communities and their country. The potato farming industry largely consists of smallholder farmers, predominantly women, producing primarily of immediate consumption. Historically, these farmers have been sustaining their farms through indigenous knowledge and practices that are not being exploited to the fullest beneficial opportunities for these farmers. It has often been suggested that Western highly mechanised approaches should be implemented to commercialise these farms in order to access these benefits. These approaches of mechanisation require large capital outlays, which these smallholder farmers cannot afford, hence the approach taken by the present study to capitalise on the indigenous knowledge and practices of these farmers. The present study argued that working with the existing indigenous knowledge and practices of these farmers, a level of commercialisation, with the resulting job creation and economic benefits, could be achieved. This study has succeeded in identifying the causes of postharvest potato losses on the smallholding farms, the obstacles in reducing these losses and the techniques to reduce these losses. The study provides important recommendations to improve smallholder potato farming in Cameroon. By implementing the findings of this study, the Cameroon government, prospective potato farmers, entrepreneurs, traditional authorities and NGOs could make a significant contribution to the improvement of socio-economic conditions and the reduction of poverty levels in these farming communities.
- Format
- xix, 227 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Shillie Peter Ngek.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |