INTERLINKS OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMMUNITY IN CHALLENGING POULTRY HEALTH IN RWANDA
Open Access
- Author:
- Christy, Celize Ciomara
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 01, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Robert Magneson Chiles, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Leland Luther Glenna, Committee Member
Suresh Varma Kuchipudi, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Rwanda
Local knowledge
Poultry Health
ethnoveterinary methods
international agricultural development
farmer knowledge - Abstract:
- In recent years, agricultural development researchers are advancing efforts to create, develop, and invest in methods for agriculture to become more sustainable. Efforts include innovating new technologies for farmers to be conscious and conservative of natural resources. Agricultural scientists and developmental agencies are beginning to recognize local knowledge systems as methods of ensuring sustainability (Nakashima and Roue, 2002). Some scientists have incorporated local knowledge in research and development, as an alternative approach to conventional agriculture interventions (Thrupp, 1989). Acknowledging and utilizing local knowledge in ways to implement alternative animal health measures can introduce a cost-effective, sustainable agricultural process (Agrwal, 1995). Proponents of local knowledge challenge the dichotomy between arguing for promoting ethnoveterinary medicine as a radical alternative to Western medicine versus negotiating a way for it into mainstream development practices (Briggs, 2005). Utilizing local knowledge does not signify or represent a disregard for expert science but rather allows an opportunity for agriculture to develop more sustainably and equitably for the regions and communities in question. Smallholder farmers, for their part, depend upon local, traditional ethnoveterinary methods that rely on plants and herbs in the prevention and treatment of human and animal illnesses. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is dependent on pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and smallholder farmers for the majority of the region’s livestock production. In 2012, Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) initiated policies and strategies to enhance its poultry sector. The poultry industry is growing seven times faster than smallholder livestock systems in emerging countries like Rwanda, and African livestock is still largely in the hands of smallholders (MINAGRI, 2012). This thesis, following an ethnographic research approach, draws from 31 qualitative semi-structured, open-ended interviews self-conducted through purposeful sampling in four out of the five Rwandan provinces are represented in this sample to understand which local methods are being used to mitigate poultry health issues in Rwanda. Additionally, the research aims to identify how farmers decide whether or not to use these methods and to provide knowledge that can validate the use of local methods as an alternative for poultry health management.