SEVEN Member States of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), including Ghana, are to adopt a common resolution towards addressing the emerging conflicts between pastoralists, mostly Fulanis, and their host communities.
This follows the realisation that these conflicts have become an international phenomenon in the West African sub-region, particularly in countries where the Fulani herdsmen have found as a suitable destination for their activities.
The countries are namely: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cote de’ Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
Representatives of these countries are currently meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to strategise on a common mechanism to resolve these conflicts, which have been recognised as an emerging threat to peace and security in the sub-region.
The two-day Consultative Meeting on Agriculture and Pastoralist Conflicts in West Africa, which opened on Tuesday, is organised by the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP) with funding from the government of Finland.
Participants comprise chiefs, agriculturalists, security and conflict resolution experts and political leaders.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, the Executive Director of WANEP, Mr Emmanuel Bombande said countries in the West African region cannot claim to be unperturbed about this menace due its threat to internal and external security.
“Not only have these conflicts between pastoralists and farmers become an in-country problem, but also a problem between countries,” he noted.
Mr Bombande mentioned that the conflicts between farmers and pastoralists had to do with access to natural resources, particularly land and water.
He said factors like population growth and climate change posed a great threat to agriculture and would thus deepen the conflict between pastoralists and farmers as they struggle to gain control over the earth and its resources.
Mr Bombande pointed out that it was high time Africa took a serious look at these conflicts because about 60 per cent of its people lived in rural areas and depended largely on agriculture.
“If agriculture fails, Africa would be plunged into crisis. Already, there is increasing rural-urban drift due to the declining interest of the youth in agriculture,” he cautioned.
The Chairperson of WANEP, Burkina Faso, Prof Albert Ouadraogo noted that this was the time for Africa to find a lasting and satisfactory solution to these conflicts, before allowing them to rise above control.
“Through dialogue, we should be able to chart a common agenda towards resolving these conflicts in a manner that would be satisfactory to both sides,” he stated.
It has been noted that the movement of pastoralists from the Sahel to the south of West Africa was largely precipitated by the increasing demand for fresh grazing grounds, as the Sahel had been hit by droughts.
Consequently, the Fulani herdsmen moved down south and were attracted to the area by the hospitality of the people and the availability of pasture.
However, they have run into troubles with the local people in recent years due to complaints that the cattle herded by the Fulani were destroying crops, whiles some of the herdsmen were allegedly involved in cattle rustling.
In Ghana, there have also been concerns about environmental degradation and criminal activities by some immigrant pastoralists.
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