Indigenous Knowledge Integration and Sustainable Agriculture: Enhancing Food Crop Productivity in Namibia's Kavango Regions

Food security remains a major development challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa despite various agricultural interventions. In Namibia, the Kavango East and Kavango West regions are regarded as the country's food basket, yet climate variability, drought, declining soil fertility, and unsustainable farming practices continue to threaten agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. Recent studies emphasise the value of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) systems in promoting sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation, and food security (Kom & Nethengwe, 2024; Oladele & Amara, 2024) [5, 10]. Indigenous knowledge includes traditional farming practices, environmental management, seed preservation, and weather forecasting techniques developed over generations. Integrating these practices with sustainable agriculture can enhance resilience, productivity, and environmental sustainability. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the effectiveness of this integration in Namibia's Kavango regions. This study assessed the effectiveness of integrating indigenous knowledge with sustainable agricultural practices to improve food crop productivity in Kavango East and Kavango West. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving structured questionnaires administered to 320 smallholder farmers, in-depth interviews with 45 key informants, and focus group discussions across 12 communities. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, and correlation analysis. Findings showed that 78% of farmers practised indigenous techniques, including mixed cropping (85%), traditional seed storage (72%), and crop rotation (68%). Farmers integrating indigenous and sustainable practices achieved higher average crop yields (2.8 tonnes/hectare) than those relying on conventional methods alone (1.9 tonnes/hectare). Despite challenges such as limited extension support, poor market access, and youth migration, the study concludes that integrating indigenous knowledge into extension services, farmer training, and agricultural policies can strengthen food security, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods.