ABSTRACT
Interest in local innovation is a direct consequence of the attention given to participatory processes and indigenous knowledge (IK) in natural resource management that emerged in the 1980s. Indigenous knowledge is often equated to static tradition. In fact much tradition is under continuous evolution gradually taking new shape through the influence of local innovation. The Promoting Farmer Innovation (PFI) developed a comprehensive farmer innovation methodology which was used as the basis for SCI-SLM. Local innovation can be a means of helping individuals and communities out of poverty, given its potential to increase production, improve food security and promote risk diversification and suitable adaptation to environmental change. Water, fertility, biodiversity, organic and other wastes, as well as labour and creativity are all found in plenty here, and form a rich medium for innovation in food production. The Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Project (ISWC) had begun in 1992 with the objective of documenting the extent of traditional systems in Africa.
