Local knowledge is the knowledge of any field of human inquiry that does not originate in academic or corporate research institutions but rather is based on local-level accumulated knowledge that is inherited through tradition and culture. It constitute the knowledge that people in a given community have developed over time, and continue to develop. It is rooted in agriculture, food preparation, health care, education and training, environmental conservation, and a host of other activities but it has been relegated to a relic in development process and rendered primitive / archaic and dismissed as inconsequential. This paper therefore, explore the potentials of local knowledge in development process. Specifically, the paper discussed the concepts of local knowledge, historical antecedent of local knowledge, and benefits derivable from the integration of local knowledge with modern.
The research was conducted in some ancient communities of south west, Nigeria which comprises of six states and two oldest communities were purposively selected in each of the States. The communities are, Ekiti State: Aramoko, Ikole, Oyo state, Oyo Alafin, Ikoyi Ile, Ondo State, Owo, Akure, Osun State, Ile-Ife, Iwo, Ogun State, Abeokuta, Ijebu igbo, Lagos State, Ikorodu, Ketu. This paper employs a critical discourse analysis to review literature and FGD guides and key informants were used to answer some questions among the custodians of local knowledge. The results from the study revealed the potentials of local knowledge in providing opportunity for the establishment of a living laboratory for showcasing the knowledge generated over time, closes the gap between the scientists and the custodians of local knowledge thereby counter-balancing the biased view that only orthodox scientist can produce valid or valuable knowledge and that local knowledge “is as old as the history of man’s search for ways and means of dealing with his environmental circumstances to satisfy all basic necessity of life. Therefore, harnessing local knowledge will provide firm development underpinnings and building on local knowledge contributes to local empowerment and development process, it helps to leverage other forms of knowledge so that poverty and other ills can be addressed jointly with the poor. This work also, examined the significant role which local knowledge played in five different projects in the study areas. Project where local knowledge provided better result in controlling stem borer in large hectares of maize farm in the western part of the country and the project whose success where linked to the incorporation of modern with local knowledge. Inauguration of community peace meeting between the farmers and herdsmen in Osun State, South western Nigeria. Therefore, the identified potentials need to be integrated into development process for sustainable economy
Key words : Local knowledge, development, harnessing, , modern knowledge, sustainable.
