FARMER-HERDER CONFLICT, LAND REHABILITATION, AND CONFLICT PREVENTION IN THE SAHEL REGION OF WEST AFRICA

Abstract

The increase in the human population has led to dramatic consequences in Sahelian countries, including food shortages, farmland expansion, and conflicts over land and natural resources. Currently, more farmers and herders in south-central Nigertry to use the same land, making it very difficult for herders to find suitable grassland for grazing during the rainy season. Fulbe and Tuareg herders graze livestock on the barren plateau to avoid damaging crops, and the farmers plant millet on land with fertile soil. Particularly during harvest season, the relationship between farmers and herders deteriorates due to livestock-induced crop damage. Hausa elders and pastoral Fulbe or Tuareg individuals living in the village have engaged in negotiations to avoid direct confrontations between herders and farmers. The disputed issues involve whether crop damage was caused by cattle and, if so, whether it was intentional or the result of carelessness by the herdsman. Hausa society has set the rate of cash compensation for intentional crop damage at ramuko and that for crop damage attributable to carelessness at bana, which is half of ramuko. The rate applied in particular cases is determined by negotiations between farmers and herders. If negotiations are broken off, some herders or farmers may resort to violence, and the situation can escalate into murder. This paper discusses an approach to land rehabilitation and conflict prevention used in south-central Niger, which involves using trash for land rehabilitation, in terms of the indigenous knowledge and daily practices of Hausa farmers. The author built two 50 × 50-m fenced plots with Hausa and Fulbe villagers and brought urban trash to the degraded land, which had been communal pastureland used by herders. Then, the author asked individuals to manage the fenced pastureland and to graze livestock inside of this land. This practice can be useful for preventing livestock-induced crop damage and conflict between farmers and herders.