In search of the solution to farmer–pastoralist conflicts in Tanzania | Land Portal

Informações sobre recurso

Date of publication: 
Janeiro 2017
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
eldis:A101638

Land-use conflict is not a new phenomenon for pastoralists and farmers in Tanzania with murders, the killing of livestock and the loss of property as a consequence of this conflict featuring in the news for many years now. Various actors, including civil society organisations, have tried to address farmer-pastoralist conflict through mass education programmes, land-use planning, policy reforms and the development of community institutions. However, these efforts have not succeeded in the conflict. Elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa traditional systems are not making much headway either. This paper finds that resolving the mutual hostility between farmers and pastoralists is problematic because it is linked to historical evictions that happened from the colonial and post-colonial period until the early 1990s. It also points to the limitations of Tanzania’s formal land dispute settlement machinery, which does not provide appropriate forums and mechanisms for resolving farmer-pastoralist conflicts. The paper argues that the existing systems do not favour the interests of either farmers or pastoralists, and calls for specific reforms. Drawing on the experiences of a farmer-pastoralist platform established by the Tanzania Natural Resource Forum, a local non-governmental organisation working on natural resource governance issues, it proposes an alternative mechanism based on the popular participation of the victims in resolving such conflicts.

Autores e editores

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

G.E. Massay

Provedor de dados

eldis (ELDIS)

Eldis is an online information service providing free access to relevant, up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues. The database includes over 40,000 summaries and provides free links to full-text research and policy documents from over 8,000 publishers. Each document is selected by members of our editorial team.


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