Integrating Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge for Sustainable Food Systems in Africa : The Plug-In Principle

This open access book presents a novel approach to food security research (SDG-2 Zero Hunger) by integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge. Through extensive field-based research in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and South Africa, it explores the impact of merging traditional practices and local knowledge with scientific methods.

Through field studies, the book shows the value of local knowledge and community-led innovations in combating hunger, achieving food security, and enhancing nutrition sustainably and food sovereignty. Drawing on decades of research in rural Africa, the authors introduce the "Plug-In Principle"—a theory for integrating indigenous and modern knowledge systems to foster sustainable agricultural practices and enriched food ecosystems in Africa.

The Plug-In Principle advocates that advancements in science and technology should enhance rather than replace existing indigenous knowledge. This principle emerged from the failures of many development interventions where attempts at replacement often led to challenges and failures. In agriculture, for instance, interventions in mechanization, soil amendments, seed and breed improvements, and extension services have seldom succeeded due to a lack of integration with existing practices.

The Plug-In Principle emphasizes that effective knowledge integration hinges on a deep understanding and appreciation of prevailing systems. By designing interventions that seamlessly "plug-in" to existing technologies, we can ensure the co-creation of effective solutions to the challenges we face. This book is a testament to the potential of collaborative innovation in fostering sustainable development.

Development workers, policymakers, researchers, students, and donor agencies in agriculture and other development areas will find this volume invaluable. Additionally, scholars focused on decolonization and indigenous knowledge in the Global South will uncover insightful case studies and analyses.

Saa Dittoh is an agricultural development and food systems economist with the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) at the University for Development Studies (UDS), in Tamale, Ghana. He has special interest in the promotion of smallholder agriculture in relation to food and nutrition security, sustainable agricultural and food systems, irrigation and agricultural water management technologies, sustainable natural resources management, ICT for rural development and participatory learning approaches. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) and Editor-in-Chief of the Ghana Journal of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness (GJAEAB).He has been a consultant to several international, continental and national organizations including UNICEF, WFP, FAO, IFAD, GEF/UNEP, The World Bank, AfDB, World Vision, USAID, DFID, EU, GTZ/GIZ, AFD, CIDA/Global Affairs, Canada, AGRA, and others. He has also collaborated in research with several international research institutions such as IITA, IFPRI, IWMI, World Vegetable Center, FARA, UNU, Vrije Universiteit, Wageningen University, and several African Universities. He actively participated in the development of Ghana's Medium Term Agriculture Sector Development Plans (METASIP I and II), Ghana's Long Term Development Plan (2018–2057) and several other national and continental development endeavors. He has been the Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Students and Pro-Vice Chancellor at the UDS.

Anna Bon is with the CIS Centre for International Cooperation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is a researcher, project manager and lecturer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). Her research focuses on collaborative and co-creative design of innovative technologies to support local value chains and improve food security, to help address challenges for smallholder farmers and communities in Africa’s drylands. This includes digital voice-service design for local cereal seeds value networks in West Africa (Mali), supporting women cooperations in e-marketing of their tree products in Burkina Faso; ICT4D Community Service Learning and the Global South (with students from Malaysia, Ghana, and the Netherlands); Sustainability and Ethics in Digital Development; and AI for Sustainable Rural Development in Africa (with UDS, Ghana). She is the project coordinator of a new 10 MEUR EU-Commission supported project setting up international innovative master-level education programs for university students, teachers and industry on Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship. 

Hans Akkermans is Professor Emeritus of Business Informatics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Adjunct Professor at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana. He is the Founding Director of the interdisciplinary Network Institute at Amsterdam that studies the interaction between digital technology and society, in which researchers from the faculties of social sciences, humanities, law, economics, and informatics participate. He has worked for many years in knowledge engineering & management, information systems and innovative e-business modelling, with for example applications and innovations in smart electricity distribution networks and the sustainable energy transition that have been internationally field-deployed and are now in industrial and commercial use.He is a key author of a textbook on Knowledge Engineering and Management, published in 2000 by The MIT Press. His current research interests focus on the interdisciplinary research, education and community service program W4RA (Web alliance for Regreening in Africa). He is furthermore Steering Committee member of the Vienna Initiative on Digital Humanism, and a contributor to two edited on Digital Humanism. He holds a cum laude MSc and a cum laude PhD in theoretical physics in the field of nuclear reactions from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.