Integrating indigenous knowledge system to sustainable agricultural practices of Higaonon Tribein Claveria, Misamis Oriental

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge encompasses skills, experiences and insights of people that are applied to maintain or improve their livelihood. This paper tried to describe the indigenous sustainable agricultural practices of Higaonon tribe in Barangay Mat-i, Claveria, Misamis Oriental. Ocular field visit was done to gather data through interview and focused group discussions. Using grounded theory in analysing the data, results showed that beyond simplicity of their land measurement and marking, Higaonon tribe maintained orderliness in terms of land ownership and cultivation of crops. Major sustainable crops raised include the staple rice and corn, and other root crops and fruit-bearing trees. However, the modern technological practices of agriculture hinder the tribe in sustaining their indigenous knowledge and practices in farming. As such, they were left no option, except to adapt the new sustainable farming technologies as a modified farming practice apart from what are usually used by their tribe.