Indigenous knowledge about soils and a sustainable crop production, a case study from the Guinea Woodland Savannah (Northern Region, Ghana)

Fanners from the village of Dalun in northern Ghana were interviewed about their knowledge of soils and traditional crop management in the area. This indigenous knowledge is based on inherited experience gained over many generations and is passed on verbally from generation to generation. This local...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geografisk tidsskrift 2004-01, Vol.104 (2), p.13-26
Main Authors: Mikkelsen, Jari Hinsch, Langohr, Roger
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Bgi / Prodig
ethnopedology
Ghana
Northern Ghana
Soil management
soil use
traditional agriculture
West Africa. Sahel
WRB classification system
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Summary:Fanners from the village of Dalun in northern Ghana were interviewed about their knowledge of soils and traditional crop management in the area. This indigenous knowledge is based on inherited experience gained over many generations and is passed on verbally from generation to generation. This local knowledge was then compiled into a Farmers' Soil Classification (FSC) system, revealing two hierarchical levels. Subsequently, the FSC was compared to a series soil profiles in an attempt to compare it to the World Reference Base (WRB) (ISSS/ISRIC/FAO, 1998). The comparison deals with the quantity and quality of information provided by each of the taxon that the farmers use. Although the taxa of both systems are markedly different, both classifications are highly correlational and the soil maps that were made based on both systems are remarkably similar. The FSC is strongly based on the requirements for optimal crop production as a function of the climatic conditions of the area, and its application is oriented towards a traditional and sustainable form of agriculture. As a result of population growth, the current sustainable land-use practises in Dalun are coming under pressure and will inevitable have to adapt to changes in the physical and political environment. This process may ultimately lead to a more intensive land-use based on mechanisation, chemical fertilizer application and new crop types. Such rapid changes represent a risk of the farmers losing their traditional knowledge about the local soils, traditional management procedures, including crop types, their rotation, length of the fallow period and fertilizer applications.
ISSN:0016-7223
1903-2471
DOI:10.1080/00167223.2004.10649515