Eco-Centric Approaches: Integrating Indigenous Agricultural Wisdom and Practices in Realizing the Sustainable Development Agendas

Abstract

The present review paper investigates how traditional indigenous practices supports sustainable agriculture. The paper is focused on analyzing different sustainable indigenous agricultural methods that have been developed and practiced by different indigenous communities for generations. The paper seeks to highlight the relevance in achieving SDGs. Furthermore, the review investigates on implementation of indigenous technologies to predict weather changes, incentives allocated for sustainable agricultural practices and agricultural initiatives proposed by G20 summit 2023 to adopt ‘smart, sustainable and serve’ (3S) strategies. Comprehensive literature search has been done among relevant academic databases with peer reviewed articles, reports and other publications related to traditional indigenous practices and their contribution to agricultural sustainability and SDGs. Indigenous agricultural methods such as intercropping, agroforestry, and organic farming show a profound awareness of ecological processes and place a strong emphasis on the preservation of biodiversity, soil fertility, water management, and sustainable land use. The paper records the vast knowledge and skills that indigenous societies have gathered over many generations and discuss the traditional indigenous practices in addressing current agricultural difficulties. This paper highlights the importance of valuing and integrating traditional indigenous practices as we strive towards agricultural sustainability and the achievement of the SDGs as discussed on G20 in India and how it helps us in achieving sustainable global economic growth.

Graphical Abstract