Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) and its relevance in the present day farming

The increasing attention that indigenous knowledge is receiving by academia and development institution has not yet led to a unanimous perception of the concept of indigenous technical knowledge. ITK is the local knowledge- knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) has immense potential for innovation, especially at the grassroots level. ITK is the basic knowledge of rural people for social upliftment of small and marginal farmers which provide sufficient information that may help in decision making procedures. India is a country populated by a number of indigenous communities, most of which have their own set of unique traditional knowledge and technology base. Many of these knowledge and technologies are at par with the modern knowledge and technology system and have been provided the indigenous communities with comfort and self-sufficiency. These traditional knowledge and technologies have played a significant role in the overall socio- economic development of the communities. A study on some of the aboriginal knowledge and technologies, with special reference to the concept of indigenous technical knowledge, prevalent among a number of indigenous communities was carried out and the significance of the same in innovation has been evaluated. The study was conducted within the framework of “sectoral system of innovation”. A wide range of diverse sectors including agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and textile were considered for the purpose of the study as all these sectors are imperative in Indian context. During the course of the study, it has been observed that there is an instant need to document and preserve the indigenous technical knowledge of different communities, many of which are at brink of extinction. There is a lack of proper alliance between the practice of indigenous and modern knowledge. There are serious issues related to intellectual property rights. An appropriate association between the traditional and modern knowledge and technology system has immense potential to benefit the society.