The Effects of Transnational Movement of Nomadic Herdsmen on the Activities of Settled Farmer Communities in Ghana.

Abstract

The study focuses on the activities of trans-national nomadic herdsmen, principally, how these activities affect settled communities. The study employs interviews and identifies the trends and movement patterns of transnational nomads. These movements usually occur in the months of December and January, that is the period of the arrival of the herder, and during June and July, which mark the return movements of the herder. These movements occasion some relationships with settled communities, which are both mutually beneficial and sometimes contentious. Various contentious relationships have had their triggers, which have been grouped into immediate and remote causes. The study identifies that the common cause of conflict between the settled farmers and the transnational herders often has to do with competition for resource use along the valleys of the Sissili River, which have seen significant expansions of commercial farms. The study further noted that the relationship between the settled communities and the transnational nomads have had a long-standing peaceful relationship which allowed for the settlement of some herders. The assessment of the peaceful relation between the settled communities revealed that, in conflict situations, the roles of the traditional authorities are significantly used for the resolution. It was noted that these institutions have worked to put measures that ensured the passage of transnational herdsmen through the study area and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Some of these strategies and measures are the basis upon which this study recommends the use of traditional setups for the peaceful resolution of disputes instead of the supra-community policies, which often do not consider the local dynamics of the conflict. The study identifies its limitation with respect to time, space and resources and recommends a longitudinal research into the problem since that would allow for a study into the various facets of the socio-cultural dynamics of the problem. It also recommends that state policies towards dealing with conflicts between transnational herdsmen and settled farmers should adopt a bottom up approach to allow for an understanding into the local socio-cultural dynamics of the groups relationship.