Bringing Culture Back: Traditional Agricultural Knowledge,Food Production and Sustainable Livelihood among Chuktia Bhunjia of Orissa

Abstract

This article deals with how Chuktia Bhunjia tribe of Orissa negotiates with their ecosystem to ensure that agricultural production and livelihood are sustainable. This study shows that the reasons behind continuation of traditional agriculture are the life experience with the traditional methods and cultural acceptance that not only make them economical but help in managing the ecosystem and natural resources management, and in procuring good production. However, a few of them have started adopting modern agriculture due to the influence of outsiders, including NGOs, they still follow the traditional methods and system. But such conventional intervention, to some extent, has rooted the culture, belief, taboo and knowledge out from practice. Also, despite the influence of mainstream agriculture, traditional agriculture still remains a practice and a system for many traditional agriculturist communities. From the study, it is argued that traditional knowledge, however, has been gaining momentum in contemporary development framework due to its ecological value; the successive agricultural policies fail to recognise traditional knowledge and, thus, it has been under threat particularly after the adoption of neo-liberal policies on agriculture in the form of introducing mechanised agricultural system and chemical fertilisers. Thus, given the contemporary debate of food crisis, ecological devastations and decline of traditional knowledge, there is a need to bring the culture back into agriculture through policy implementation. Also, given the decline of traditional knowledge, including agricultural, may be due to anti-development forest policies, there is urgent need to integrate the traditional knowledge with modern knowledge at functional level that can preserve not only their culture but they can access the conventional methods of agriculture in a sustainable way. There may be many communities practicing similar kinds of agriculture, if not exactly the same. Thus, policy makers must aware of such practices in order to make the agricultural policy successful.

Keywords

Traditional knowledge Orissa culture food security agricultural policy tribe

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bedi

Geetanjali

Shiva

Vandana

(2002). Sustainable agriculture and food security: The impact of globalisation. New Delhi: Sage Publication.

Berkes

(1993). Traditional ecological knowledge in perspective. In Inglis

J.T.

(ed) Traditional ecological knowledge: Concept and cases (pp. 1–9). Canada: International Programme on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and International Development Research Centre, pp. 1–9.

Berkes

Colding

Folke

(2000). Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecological application, 10(5): 1251–1262.

Berkes

Gadgil

(1993). Indigenous knowledge for biodiversity conversation. Ambio, 22(2&3): 151–156.

Berkes

Folke

Gadgil

(1995). Traditional ecological knowledge, biodiversity, resilience and sustainability. In Perring

C.A.

Maler

K.G.

Folke

Jansson

B.O.

Holling

C.S.

(eds) Biodiversity conservation (pp. 281–299). Dorchecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 281–299.

Brodt

Sonja B.

(2001). A systems perspective on the conservation and erosion of indigenous agricultural knowledge in Central India. Human Ecology, 29(1): 99–120.

Chuktia Bhunjia Development Agency (CBDA). (2001). Population census. Sunabeda: Chuktia Bhunjia Development Agency.

Cernea

Michael

. (2005). Studying the culture of agriculture: The uphill battle for social research in CGIAR. Culture and Agriculture, 27(2): 73–87.

Chambers

(1980). Understanding professional: Small farmers and scientists. Occasional Paper, New York: International Agricultural Development Service.

10.

Cleveland

D.A.

(1998). Balancing on a planet: Toward an agricultural anthropology for the twenty-first century. Human Ecology, 26(2): 323–40.

11.

Crevello

(2004). Dayak land use system and indigenous knowledge. Journal of Human Ecology, 16(2): 69–73.

12.

Deaton

Angus

Dreze

Jean

. (2009). Food and nutrition in India: Facts and interpretations. Economic and Political Weekly, XLIV(7), February 14: 42–65.

13.

Dialla

B.F.

(1994). The adaptation of soil conservation in Burkino Faso. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, 2(1): 10–12.

14.

Ellen

Haris

(2000). Introduction. In Ellen

Parker

Bicker

(eds), Indigenous knowledge and its transformation: Critical anthropological perspectives (pp. 1–34). New York: Hardwood.

15.

Gadgil

Berkes

(1991). Traditional resource management systems. Resource Management and Optimisation, 18(3&4): 127–141.

16.

Gopalan

Reedy

P.V.M.R.

(2006). Empowerment through traditional knowledge system for agricultural sustainability. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 5(1): 158–161.

17.

Government of Orissa (2010–11). Economic Survey 2010–11. Bhubaneswar: Planning and Coordination Department.

18.

Haverkort

(1995). Agricultural development with a focus on local resources: ILEIA’S view on indigenous knowledge. In Warren

D.M.

Slikkerveer

L.J.

Brokensha

(Eds), The cultural dimension of development: Indigenous knowledge system (pp. 454–57). London: Intermediate Technology Publication.

19.

Howes

Chambers

(1979). Indigenous technological knowledge: Analysis, implication and issues. IDS Bulletin, 10(2): 5–11.

20.

Jeeve

S.R.D.N.

Laloo

R.C.

Mishra

B.P.

(2006). Traditional agricultural practices in Meghalaya, Northeast India. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 5(1): 7–18.

21.

Kumar

Arun

. (2004). Globalisation and India’s food security: Issues and challenges. In Bhatt

M.S.

(Ed.), Poverty and food security in India: Problems and policies (pp. 71–105). New Delhi: AAKAR Books.

22.

McCorkle

(1989). Towards a knowledge of local knowledge and its importance for agricultural RD&E. Agriculture and Human Value, 3(3): 4–12.

23.

Mini

P.V.

(2005). Traditional agricultural practices of Mavilans of Kerala. Man and Life, 31(3 and 4): 47–52.

24.

Netting

R.M.

(1993). Smallholders, householders: Farm families and the ecology of intensive, sustainable agriculture. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

25.

Oldfield

Alcorn

J. B.

(1991). Conservation of traditional agroecosystems. In Oldfield

Argery L.

Alcorn

Janis B.

(Eds), Biodiversity: Culture, conservation, and eco-development (pp. 37–58). Boulder: Westview Press.

26.

Patnaik

(2005). Theorising food security and poverty in the era of economic reforms. Public Lecture in the series Freedom from Hunger. New Delhi: India International Centre, 12 April 2005.

27.

Rajsekaran

(1993). Indigenous technical practices in a rice based farming system. Ames: IA Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development.

28.

Rechards

(1989). Indigenous agricultural knowledge system and international agricultural research. In Rechards

Slikkerveer

L.J.

Phillips

A.O.

(Eds), Indigenous knowledge system for agriculture and rural development. The CIKARD inaugural lecture, studies in technology and social change No. 13, (pp. 4–18). Ames: Iowa State University.

29.

Rhoades

Robert. E.

(1983). Breaking new ground: Agricultural anthropology. Lima: International Potato Center.

30.

Richards

(1993). Cultivation: knowledge or performance?. In Hobart

Mark

(Ed.), An Anthropological critique of development: The growth of ignorance (pp. 61–78). London: Routledge.

31.

Richards

(1985). Indigenous agricultural revolution. London: Hutchinson.

32.

Russel

R.V

Hiralal

R.B.

(1916). Tribes and castes of the central provinces of India. London: McMillan.

33.

Sen

(1981). Poverty and famines: An essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

34.

Sen

(1985). Commodities and capabilities. New York: Oxford University Press.

35.

Silliote

(1998). The development of indigenous knowledge: A new applied anthropology. Current Anthropology, 39(2): 223–252.

36.

Singh

(2000). Use of indigenous knowledge and social networking in resource management: A case study in sustainable development from Kwajulu Natal. Journal of Social Science, 4(1): 47–56.

37.

Slikkerveer

L.J.

(1994). Indigenous agricultural knowledge system in developing countries: A bibliography. Project report on Indigenous knowledge system research and development study no.1. Leiden: INDAKS R&T Consortium.

38.

Soleri

Cleveland

D.A.

(1993). Hopi crop diversity and change. Journal of Ethnobiology, 13(2): 203–31.

39.

Srivastava

J. N.

Smith

J. H.

Forno

(1996). Biodiversity and agriculture: Implications for conservation and use. World Bank Technical Paper Number 321, Washington, DC: World Bank.

40.

Talawar

Singh

Y.P.

(1994). Understanding indigenous knowledge system in arid agriculture. Journal of Rural Development, 13(1): 63–74.

41.

Warren

M.D.

(1993). Using indigenous knowledge for agriculture and rural development: Current issues and studies. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, 1(1): 7–10.

42.

Warren

D.M.

Rajasekaran

(1993). Putting local knowledge to good use, International Agricultural Development, 13(4): 8–10.

43.

Warren

M.D.

Slikkerveer

L.J.

Brokensha

D.W.

(Eds). (1994). Cultural dimension of development: Indigenous knowledge system, IT studies in indigenous knowledge and development. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.

44.

Warren

M.D.

Slikkerveer

L.J.

Titilola

S.O.

(Eds). (1989). Indigenous knowledge system: Implication for agriculture and international development. Studies in technologies and social change No. 11. Ames: Iowa State University.

45.

Williamson

Jr. (2001). Globalisation and poverty: Lessons from the theory and practice of food security: Discussion. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83(3): 730–32.

46.

World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. United Nation: World Commission on Environment and Development.