Conflict or symbiosis? Disentangling farmer-herdsman relations: the Mossi and Fulbe of the Central Plateau, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Conflicts between farmers and herdsmen are certainly not new phenomena: they already occurred at the time of the biblical patriarchs. In West Africa, conflicts over the use of scarce natural resources between farmers and herdsmen are said to be on the increase. The occurrence of such conflicts is generally attributed to growing pressure on natural resources, caused by population increase, the growth of herds and the extension of cultivated areas outpacing population growth. That such conflicts appear to oppose two ethnic groups – generally Fulbe herdsmen versus a population group of farmers – is explained by the fact that not only has overall competition over natural resources increased due to a saturation of space, but that at the same time a balance between the two groups has been broken. The convergence of production systems, as a result of farmers engaging in cattle breeding and herdsmen in agriculture, entailed the disappearance of both ecological and economic complementarity between the two groups – a process that is said to have been accelerated by the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. The interpretation of these conflicts depends on the – sometimes implicit – assumption that formerly, in an often unspecified epoch in the past, relations between farmers and herdsmen could be conceived of in terms of symbiosis – a relationship based on mutual dependence and mutual advantage with implied complementarity in the ecological and economic spheres.

Lessons for farmer-oriented research: Experiences from a West African soil fertility management project

“…Leveling mechanisms that aim to ''even out'' the distribution of wealth (Nanda, 1990) are very strong and imply that people do not want to publicly display their wealth (Breusers et al, 1998). Farmers believe witchcraft to be real in its consequences and capable of having an impact on their well-being.…”

Documenting livelihood trajectories in the context of development interventions in northern Burkina Faso

“…Traditionally, there was a competitive and symbiotic relationship between Mossi farmers and Fulani (Fulbe) pastoralists in the northern Central Plateau (Breusers et al 1998). Mossi households used to entrust their cattle to Fulani herders but have gradually developed the ability to manage, graze, and stall-feed their herds independently.…”

Agricultural Investments and Farmer-Fulani Pastoralist Conflict in West African Drylands: A Northern Ghanaian Case Study

“…Local farmers and stockowners accused Fulani pastoralists of being responsible for the increasing prevalence of cross-border stock rustling, and therefore began retrieving stock placed under Fulani care [26,27]. Numerous conflicts also arose from the alleged destruction of crops by cattle, and the destruction of economic trees, such as Shea and Dawadawa trees.…”