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Topic · Plant Science

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture is a research topic within Plant Science. Science Explorer counts 3.7k research works in it since 1959. 16.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the intersection of indigenous knowledge and soil management practices, focusing on the role of local communities in sustainable agriculture, soil fertility assessment, and land use. It discusses the challenges and opportunities of integrating traditional farming systems with scientific soil knowledge for sustainable development.

  • Indigenous Knowledge
  • Soil Fertility
  • Local Soil Classification
  • Sustainable Development
  • Knowledge Management
  • Agricultural Practices
  • Farmers' Perception
  • Land Use
  • Ethnopedology
  • Traditional Farming Systems
Research works
3.7k
fractional, since 1959
In the world top 10%
597
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+19%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research?

By volume, India and the United States publish the most (211 and 85 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 India 211 works
  2. 2 United States 85 works
  3. 3 South Africa 79 works
  4. 4 Nigeria 65 works
  5. 5 Ethiopia 47 works
  6. 6 Indonesia 44 works
  7. 7 Australia 33 works
  8. 8 Canada 32 works
  9. 9 Brazil 29 works
  10. 10 Nepal 28 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

India: 32.4%United States: 13.0%South Africa: 12.2%Nigeria: 9.9%6 others listed: 32.6%32%largest
India211 · 32.4%United States85 · 13.0%South Africa79 · 12.2%Nigeria65 · 9.9%6 others listed213 · 32.6%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research?

By volume in 2022–2025, University of South Africa publishes the most Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research, followed by Tribhuvan University and University of Zululand.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 20 works
  2. 2 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 11 works
  3. 3 University of ZululandSouth Africa 7 works
  4. 4 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 7 works
  5. 5 University of IbadanNigeria 6 works
  6. 6 Agriculture and Forestry UniversityNepal 6 works
  7. 7 Durban University of TechnologySouth Africa 6 works
  8. 8 Addis Ababa UniversityEthiopia 6 works
  9. 9 Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural ResearchEthiopia 5 works
  10. 10 G.S. Science, Arts And Commerce CollegeIndia 5 works

Who are the leading researchers in Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture include Alex B. McBratney and Budiman Minasny.

  1. 1 Alex B. McBratney Australia 2.4k citations
  2. 2 Budiman Minasny Australia 1.6k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research done?

The largest centres of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research in 2022–2025 are New Delhi (India), Pretoria (South Africa), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Pretoria.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 New Delhi India 25 works
  2. 2 Pretoria South Africa 24 works
  3. 3 Kathmandu Nepal 16 works
  4. 4 Addis Ababa Ethiopia 15 works
  5. 5 Durban South Africa 10 works
  6. 6 Johannesburg South Africa 9 works
  7. 7 Nairobi Kenya 9 works
  8. 8 Bengaluru India 7 works
  9. 9 Paris France 7 works
  10. 10 Kolkata India 7 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. PretoriaZA · 24.4 works20×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture than the world average.

See Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture on the map

Where is the best place to study Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture?

Among universities, judged by research, University of South Africa and Tribhuvan University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 60.053.1%46.9×20 +39.4%
2 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 15.02.3%27.0×12 +53.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 19% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2026. The fastest-growing topics are Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.