ABSTRACT

Over centuries, ethnic minority communities in the north of Vietnam have developed complex farming systems well-adapted to their environments. Much of this is based on indigenous knowledge concerned with adapting to locally-available resources and more recently enhancing resiliency to climatic risk. This article draws from data gathered with mixed qualitative methods in ten villages in rural Bac Kan Province in the north of the country. It documents specific examples in the production of banana and medicinal plants; maize and red peanut; taro, pachyrhizus, and maize; and green bean as systems that incorporate native crops in ways that provide resistance to drought, improve water-use efficiency, benefit the soil, minimize agrochemical use, preserve culinary traditions, support gender equality, and increase the incomes of farm families living near the poverty line. Overall, this study illustrates unique ways that indigenous knowledge and agroecological farming practices can increase social, economic, and environmental resiliency, mitigate risk, and strengthen livelihoods in marginalized communities. As communities across the Global South seek answers to ever-increasing challenges brought by changes in climate, this paper argues that policymakers should revisit, support, and promote the indigenous knowledge already present in these communities to advance more sustainable futures.

抽象的

几个世纪以来，越南北部的少数民族社区已经发展了适应其环境的复杂耕作制度。其中很大一部分是基于与适应当地可用资源有关的土著知识，最近又增强了对气候风险的适应能力。本文采用混合定性方法收集的数据，该数据来自该国北部Bac Kan省农村地区的10个村庄。它记录了香蕉和药用植物生产中的具体实例；玉米和红花生；芋头，凤梨和玉米；和绿豆这样的系统，它以能够抵抗干旱，提高水利用效率，惠及土壤，最大限度地减少农用化学品的使用，保护烹饪传统，支持性别平等的方式结合了本地作物，并增加生活在贫困线附近的农户的收入。总的来说，这项研究说明了独特的方式，即土著知识和农业生态农业实践可以提高社会，经济和环境的适应能力，降低风险，并加强边缘化社区的生计。随着全球南方各社区寻求应对气候变化带来的日益严峻挑战的方法，本文认为，决策者应该重新审视，支持和促进这些社区中已经存在的土著知识，以推动更可持续的未来。