The preservation, management, and sharing of indigenous knowledge is crucial for social and economic development in ruralAfrica. The high rate of illiteracy (print-based) in rural Africa and the exclusion of indigenous knowledge from Western education add to the information gap experienced in rural Africa. Other challenges facing oral cultures are the disappearance of traditional knowledge and skills due to memory loss or death of elders and the deliberate or inadvertent destruction of indigenous knowledge. The rapidly increasing use of social media and mobile technologies creates opportunities to form local and international partnerships that can facilitate the process of creating, managing, preserving, and sharing of knowledge and skills that are unique to communities inAfrica. This article proposes the use of social media and mobile technologies (cell phones) in the creation, preservation, and dissemination of indigenous knowledge and discusses the role of libraries in the integration of social media technologies with older media that employ audio and audiovisual equipment to reach a wider audience.

/pdf/the-use-of-social-media-technologies-to-create-preserve-and-1tmbyypngi.pdf

The Use of Social Media Technologies to Create, Preserve, and Disseminate Indigenous Knowledge and Skills to Communities in East Africa

Developing the agricultural sector remains a critical factor towards the achievement of sustainable food production and, indeed, global food security. While indigenous agricultural knowledge is of immense value in improving food production, its documentation and dissemination remain a big challenge confronting librarians and other information professionals, particularly in Africa where cultural practices are prevalent. This study is aimed at investigating the efforts of agricultural research libraries in Nigeria in documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge towards achieving sustainable food security in the country. It is also aimed at determining the agricultural indigenous practices that have been documented as well as the obstacles to the documentation of agricultural indigenous knowledge. Librarians in selected agricultural research libraries in Nigeria constitute the target population of this study while questionnaire is the instrument for data collection. Based on the findings of the study, various recommendations have been made.

/pdf/documenting-and-disseminating-agricultural-indigenous-4v3kqueltt.pdf

Documenting and Disseminating Agricultural Indigenous Knowledge For Sustainable Food Security: The Efforts of Agricultural Research Libraries in Nigeria

Rukwa region is widely known in Tanzania as one of the grain baskets of the nation. However, in recent years, crop production in the region has been on the decline. The decline has been attributed to poor market-orientation, inappropriate farming methods, products and inadequate processing facilities. This has resulted to high levels of produce wastage with majority of the population living under extreme poverty despite the government‟s green strategy to alleviate the problem. This situation is attributed to inadequate, uncoordinated and under-resourced information services that have failed to address the farming community‟s information needs. The aim of the study was to investigate the provision of agricultural information services to small scale crop farmers in Rukwa region with a view to proposing an appropriate model of information service provision to enhance crop production in the region. Specifically, the study endeavored to: determine the information needs and seeking habits of small scale crop farmers; establish the types and range of information services offered; examine the application of ICTs in the provision of information services; ascertain the challenges experienced by small scale farmers in accessing and using information services; and to propose a model to improve agricultural information service provision. The study was informed by the Information Seeking and Communication Model (ISCM). A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. Systematic sampling was used to select 150 small scale crop farmers. Purposeful sampling was used to select villages with field farm schools, 50 small scale crop farmers, 27 information service providers and six district agricultural and livestock officers as key informants. Questionnaires were used to collect data supplemented by interviews and non-participant observation. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Statistical measures were used to test the relationship between variables and presented using frequency distribution tables, bars, charts and figures. Qualitative data was thematically analyzed based on study objectives. The findings showed that small scale farmers have various unmet and dynamic information needs. They needed information on where and how to get market for their crops, credit and loan facilities, input subsidy and horticulture, among others. They sought information mostly from informal sources, preferably gatekeepers, church/ mosque and village leaders. Among the information services provided included document delivery services, technical advice, and on farm reference services. ICT services were available but not accessible in most areas due to several challenges. The study concludes that despite the importance of agricultural information to small scale farmers, its availability is hampered by many obstacles. The study recommends that agricultural information needs should be assessed regularly and properly addressed; there should be a linkage between agricultural research institutions; information systems and services. A centralized agricultural database management system should be established to collect, organize, and disseminate agricultural information to small scale crop farmers to enhance crop productivity.

http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/934/1/Ntulo%20Getrude%20Robert%202017.pdf

Provision of agricultural information services to small scale crop farmers in Rukwa region, Tanzania

This paper strives to explore the state of digitisation of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) across the three countries: Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda. IK in Africa has gained momentum as a strategic resource for socio-economic development hence the need for its effective management. Many studies concur that the bulk of the world’s heritage resources including digitally born resources have been lost and some cannot be recovered due to neglect. Digitisation is viewed as a tool that can be used to provide long-term preservation and global access to IK. To gain insight about the state of IK digitisation projects of the studied countries nine (9) cases were studied. Data presented and discussed in this paper was obtained using semi-structured interviews. For one case of the nine, content analysis for the web-based portal of a national heritage repository was conducted. Secondary data was further obtained through document search of relevant print and electronic resources. Recommendations suggest the need for intensifying digitisation projects of IK found in rural communities; collaborative approach; increased funding and capacitating of information professionals in the digitisation of heritage resources.

Digital preservation of indigenous knowledge (IK) by cultural heritage institutions: a comparative study of Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda

This article is part of a larger study which explored the integration of indigenous knowledge into public library services in South Africa in an endeavour to enhance their relevance. Four purposefu...

A framework for the integration of indigenous knowledge into libraries in South Africa

Indigenous knowledge in agriculture is so central to local peasants in Zimbabwe to the extent that it has become central to the collection development policies of National and Public libraries. This paper seeks to find out what libraries are doing to promote access to indigenous knowledge in agriculture considering that Zimbabwe’s economy is agro- based. It has explored the strategies that libraries are using to disseminate and document indigenous knowledge in agriculture, for example, repackaging of information and knowledge into drama, song and dance. The paper looks at the extent to which local farmers are involved in collection development of indigenous knowledge in agriculture through community publishing and oral traditions initiatives. It high lights the uniqueness of Zimbabwe’s indigenous knowledge in agriculture, for example, indigenous indicators to determine favourable time to prepare for farming, plant protection methods, rain making ceremonies and use of organic manure among others. This paper reviews the extent to cultural taboos encapsulate indigenous knowledge in agriculture. Highlight the role of agricultural extension officers (AGRITREX) and Agricultural Research Extension (AREX) in promoting the dissemination of indigenous knowledge in agriculture. The writer will make recommendations on how best to utilize indigenous knowledge in agriculture to improve farming in Zimbabwe.

Role of libraries in promoting the dissemination and documentation of indigenous agricultural information: Case Study of Zimbabwe

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Role of libraries in promoting the dissemination and documentation of indigenous agricultural information: Case Study of Zimbabwe