“He who does not like flies,” a Burundian proverb says, “throws what attracts them far away.” But in the case of the farmer-herder conflict in Agogo in the Asante Region of Ghana, the warring parties seem to dislike “flies”—the conflict—yet find it difficult to throw away “what attracts these flies” – the key driving factors.
In my previous post on the conflict, I pointed out how somewhat both the local farmers and the herders have run to the police for redress and yet accused the same law-enforcing body of favouring one side of the conflict. Interesting?
The truth is, both parties to the conflict would probably love to live and coexist in peace, but that can or will only happen when the key driving factors pushing them to go head-to-head are resolved.
What could be done to resolve the conflict then? In this piece, I enumerate strategies that, when implemented on the side of the herders, could help bring peace. (Part 2 of this piece will touch on strategies on the farmers’ side too.)
Firstly, a grazing field and folder banks for the herders’ livestock. The Government of Ghana, as espoused by Adomako (2019), and for that matter, the local authorities of Agogo should clearly demarcate a land that will serve as a grazing field for the herders’ livestock. And directly tied to the grazing fields should be the creation of folder banks. With this, the herders will have no incentive to walk their animals to or through people’s farmers to graze on their (farmers) produce, as is usually the case during the dry season across sub-Saharan Africa (Nnaji et al., 2022; Kugbega & Aboagye, 2021).
Again, construction of dams and boreholes. In her September 2019 paper titled “Addressing the Causes and Consequences of the Farmer-Herder Conflict in Ghana,” Margaret Adomako posited that the construction of dams and boreholes would go a long way to have the herders rear their livestock in dignity and prevent further clashes with the farmers. Here, the herders will not walk their livestock in search of water for their (livestock) drinking.
The author argued that the construction of these dams and boreholes could be financed by the government first registering the herders and taxing them accordingly.
Thirdly, the setting up of an abattoir and milk factory. Both an abattoir and a milk-producing factory should be set up (on the side of the herders) where the herders could sell to the public meat and milk. The abattoir, for instance, will partly serve as a ready market for the herders to sell their livestock, from which they can get money to pay their taxes to the government as aforementioned.
Under the abattoir-milk factory policy, workers at the facility will be a blend of both the herders and the farmers, which will foster their coexistence. Also, the farmers (in general) will be issued a special identification card, which gives them a discount on meat or milk purchased.
Lastly, peace sensitization. The Agogo Municipal Assembly, in conjunction with other relevant stakeholders, must organize peace education to sensitize the two communities, especially their respective youth, on the need to shun violence and embrace peace and coexistence.
Here, the youth would learn the stark reality in the Ivorian proverb, which says, “When the elderly take the decision of going to war, it is the young who have to go.” And the question the youth must answer is: for how long are they willing to go to war, and how certain are they that they will come back home safe and sound?
I am of the utmost conviction that these measures or strategies, when implemented, would bring an end to the age-old conflict.
REFERENCES:
Adomako, M. (2019). (rep.). Addressing the Causes and Consequences of the Farmer-Herder Conflict in Ghana (6th ed., pp. 1–5). Accra, Ghana: KAIPTC.
Kugbega, S. K., & Aboagye, P. Y. (2021). Farmer-herder Conflicts, Tenure Insecurity and Farmer’s Investment Decisions in Agogo, Ghana. Agricultural and Food Economics, 9(1), 1–38. doi:10.1186/s40100-021-00186-4
Nnaji, A., Ratna, N., Renwick, A., & Ma, W. (2022). Risk Perception, Farmer−herder Conflicts and Production Decisions: Evidence From Nigeria. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50(2), 683–716. doi:10.1108/ijse-10-2021-0578/v1/review1