This study examined indigenous fishing and farming knowledge systems and their relevance to sustainable food security among Ogoni/Ikwerre communities in Rivers State. Three objectives, three research questions, and three null hypotheses guided the study. An analytic descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised indigenous farmers and fisherfolk resident in selected Ogoni communities (Khana, Gokana, Tai, and Eleme Local Government Areas) and Ikwerre communities (Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, and Emohua Local Government Areas), from which a sample of 380 Indigenous Farmers and Fishers (IFF) was drawn using Taro Yamane’s formula and a multi-stage sampling procedure, and 110 Community Development, Fisheries/Agricultural Extension, and Traditional Institution Personnel (CDEP), comprising Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries extension officers, community development officers, and custodians of culture attached to traditional councils, studied through a census approach given their manageable number. Data were collected using a structured instrument titled “Indigenous Fishing and Farming Knowledge Systems and Sustainable Food Security Questionnaire” (IFFKS-SFSQ), validated by three experts and yielding Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients ranging from 0.78 to 0.86 for the three clusters, with a cumulative coefficient of 0.82. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while hypotheses were tested using z-test statistics at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that indigenous fishing knowledge systems (IFF grand mean = 2.86; CDEP grand mean = 2.69) and indigenous farming knowledge systems (grand means = 3.19 and 2.93 respectively) are both relevant to sustainable food security among Ogoni/Ikwerre communities to a high extent, with no significant difference between the two groups on indigenous fishing knowledge systems but a significant difference favouring Indigenous Farmers and Fishers on indigenous farming knowledge systems. Socio-cultural, environmental, and modernization-related challenges were rated as affecting the sustenance and transmission of these indigenous knowledge systems to a high-to-very-high extent by both groups (grand means = 3.32 and 3.54 respectively), with Community Development and Extension Personnel rating the severity of these challenges significantly higher than Indigenous Farmers and Fishers themselves. The study recommended the deliberate documentation and integration of indigenous fishing and farming knowledge into formal agricultural extension and school curricula, alongside community-based measures to restore customary conservation practices and strengthen intergenerational knowledge transfer among Ogoni/Ikwerre youth in Rivers State.

Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Fishing, Farming, Sustainable Food Security.