ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a literature of local agricultural knowledge in the context of food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that about 795 million people were chronically undernourished in 2012–2014. In 1996, the World Food Summit defined food security as “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” When evaluating the contribution that local knowledge can make to agricultural innovation and food security, a distinction has to be drawn between the terms “local knowledge” and “indigenous knowledge” or “traditional knowledge.” It is also useful to consider the extent to which these knowledges might be classified as “intellectual property.” In attempting to fit local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge into international legal instruments by establishing legal classifications, Antons points out, communities are expected to live up to the expectations of outsiders, particularly lawyers and policy-makers, regarding the “authenticity” of their “traditional lifestyles.”.
