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Toward a knowledge of local knowledge and its importance for agricultural RD&E

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Abstract

Local knowledge (both technological and sociological) and communication systems represent a logical starting point and a rich body of resources for successful agricultural research, development, and extension (RD&E). Drawing upon concrete examples from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, this essay presents an overview of definitions, topics, and applications of local knowledge in agricultural RD&E. Also noted are caveats, future research and training needs, and human values issues related to the study and utilization of local knowledge systems and their products.

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Authors
  1. Constance M. McCorkle
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Constance M. McCorkle is research assistant professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she coordinates the Sociology Project of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SRCRSP). In addition to authoring a variety of other works on agricultural RD&E in the developing world, she is editor of the recently published volumeThe Social Sciences in International Agricultural Research, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, CO, 1989.

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McCorkle, C.M. Toward a knowledge of local knowledge and its importance for agricultural RD&E. Agric Hum Values 6, 4–12 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217664

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