Working Paper

Analysis of Indigenous Knowledge in Swaziland: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development

“The search for sustainable solutions to the development and technology problems that continue to confront developing countries has led to renewed interest in the potential contribution of Indigenous
Knowledge (IK) to research and development activities. This has been defined as a systematic body of knowledge acquired by local people through accumulation of experiences, informal experiments and
intimate understanding of the environment in a given culture. It is unique to a particular group, and local people such as farmers, who are custodians. The potential
use of it in agriculture is widely acknowledged, but lack of documentation on indigenous knowledge systems poses problems for researchers, policy makers and rural development practitioners.
The overall objective of this study was to document IK in Swaziland. The focus is on its application in agricultural practices, natural resource management and livelihood systems. A combination of secondary
and primary data was used for documentation to determine the extent of use, identify constraints, and
attitudes, to users, and its role in development.”