LELIV Creation of a Commission for Farmer/Grazers Conflict Management In Banten,
LELIV Creates A Commission For Farmer/Grazers Conflict Management In Banten, The Beginning Of Long Lasting Hope For Co-Existence Among Grazers/Farmers Communities In The North West Region.
Written By BONGWONG JUSTIN, 02 April 2022
LIVING EARTH AND LIVLIHOOD a local initiative charge with the task to fine-tune solutions to the community problems in this move creates an inclusive Farmer/Grazer conflict management commission in Banten Village, Nkum Sub-Division in Bui Division. January 2022, saw the coming together of civil society, minority Bororos and the indigenous Nso people of Banten village. This gathering saw the coming to existence of a farmer/grazer conflict management commission under the leadership of LELIV led by Efrida Njolai an experienced Agric-Engineer,who takes effective conflict sensitive approaches via the creation of Farmer/Grazier Conflict management commission headed by ARDO, the Head of the Bororo Community in Banten.
In a participatory approach diversity and inclusive considerations were well considered.
In consultation with the community leaders, coming together of the traditional council, Justice and Peace Kumbo, LELIV team and grazers and farmers representatives and two land lords in Banten village the commission was created made of of minority graziers and majority indigenous farmers. The 10 man Commission was trained as trainers on conflict management is to keep supporting LIVING EARTH AND LIVLIHOOD’s (LELIV) in the community-structures empowerment and facilitating community integration in conflict management in farming communities. This is thanks to the partnership with Justice and Peace Commission Kumbo Diocese.
The Inspiration Is Drawn From The Historic Initiatives Since 1979 In The Grassfield.
History does not repeat itself but it rhymes. Remember that in his works “ The Bamenda Grassfield Lexicon of Farmer-Grazier Conflicts”, Venatius Kum Nwoh (PhD), made synopsis of events from 1909-2006 providing a memorabilia of major issues related to farmers-herder conflict in the Bamenda grassfields covering a period of 100 years.
LELIV being a common initiative group based in Kumbo and having worked with farmers for about five (5) years now, can guarantee that by the end of 2023, a remarkable change will be noticed in my community. The resilience of the local population will really be strengthen as they are now equipped with new adaptable skills.
The Strategic Action Adopted.
This success comes as a follow-up of the 2021 workshop on Farmer – Glazer conflicts management in Banten, Nkum Sub-Division which was powered by partners and collaborates in community solutions. According to the Director of LELIV, Elfrida Njolai, this program has been on pipeline ever since her service as an agricultural technician in the rural communities in Bui Division. She narrated during an interview that conflicts affected households’ agricultural production through different channels in these communities and it came to her notice since the food crisis in the early 2000.”
According to LELIV’s consultant on community development strategy Bongwong Justin Berinyuy, agricultural production in Bui Division and North West Region may continue to decline due to direct attacks against population, such as destruction of yields, climate change , theft of productive assets, or land plundering among other conflict driving factors, animal destruction of farms. That is why we want to act ahead of time when the climate crisis has not escalated because it is going to be a challenge when the community is not drilled on the importance of co-existence and how every sector of agriculture can complement the other as well as the local actors. Our objective is also to promote social cohesion among the indigenous minority grazers and majority farmers in the area.
Background Justification
The Vegetation Of Banten, Soil Type And Settlement Is Also Considered Because These Facts Have A Direct Of Inverse Relationship With Farmer Grazier-Conflict.
Ø Climate and vegetation influencers to occupation
Situated in the Sudano-savana zone, the area has different types of vegetation, ranging from grasses with fringes or forest along the gentle slopes and narrow valleys. The hilly area is mostly used for animal rearing about 80% grassing land occupied by Bororo population which is about 9% of the entire village population who are not involved in normal crop farming while the indigenous population occupy savanna-rainforest and most valleys with their normal crop farming (beans, corn, Irish potatoes , maize are the common annual crops cultivated in these areas).Sometimes both dry seasons and rainy seasons suffer the various issues relating to conflict in the communities. The areas from Ngai,Tangti,Kibiin,Nka’h, Yeelum, Lemv’em Koom-mban,Diyri,Taa’virer,Nyei-ngong, Taa-shirom,Rom Vikeng are spotted farmlands surrounded by grassing land. Over the past years farmers and grassers have had clashes around these areas. Cattle and stray animals sometimes owned by about 5% of the indigenous people or Bororo minorities storm farms during rainy of dry seasons and destroy crops. This was the case in Kibin’n about 10 years back where the whole farming season was disrupted by cattle from a range around Nka’h, same was Romvikeng which has been merely abandoned as a farming area because of animals that invade these farms in search of pasture. Many farmers abandons farms around Lemvem and Nyengong because cattle and goats could not allow the crops to grow in their farms and this has been causing a lot of clashes in between the indigenous farming and grassing population sometimes because of straying animals from farmers who rear animals like goats, pigs and sheep and sometimes cattle also. The rate of stray animals has been alarming with pigs, goats breaking into fences of indigenous farmers leading to serious conflicts. Banten village is a farming community with good soils that permits market gardening. Crops like onions, tomatoes with vegetables like cabbage, huckle berry , bitter leaf do well, but mostly gardening in Banten has been abandoned since the farming system has been suffering from animal storms on farming zones in search of pasture. The construction of fences has not been easy because of cost and scarcity of word or cost of fencing labor to the poor farmers or shortage of labor as a result of rural-exodus that affect the supply of labor, also sometimes cattle and pigs use too much force and break into weak fences since the only wood used for fencing is eucalyptus which has only a life span of two years when used to construct fences. Barb-wire has been very ineffective because it stops only cattle and horses. Goats, sheep, pigs do not succumb to these barriers. Tree planning fences have been ineffective as some of these leaves sometimes are food to some of these animals while some affect the fertility of the soil because of their tap roots and sheds to the sun from shining on farms.
Rational:-
According to a Historical Survey conducted in 2016 by Kiven Flora Wirgo “Irish Potatoes in the Economy of Banten (Nso) 1975-2016”, with the problem statement was the role of Irish potatoes cultivation in the Banten community between 1975 and 2016. It provided enough evidence that Banten has potentials in farming but has faced a lot of challenges. Her work provided succinct explanations to some stated questions. The following objectives were set, to examine the geo-historical setting of Banten and how it favor Irish Potatoes cultivation; expose the processes involved in Irish potatoes cultivation and it role in the economy as well as its impacts and the problems faced by Irish potatoes farmers. The survey used qualitative and quantitative analyses to interpret information and data respectively, with thematic and chronological approaches with primary and secondary data sources.
There has been huge reflection from articles like Takor,N.K. & G,M.B ., “ The Political Implications of the trade in the Bamenda Grassland ”, in Pan-Tikar journal of History,Vol.1,No 1, Ojong,N., “ Livelihoods strategies in African Cities: The Case of Residents in Bamenda,Cameroon”, in African Review of Economics and Finance,Vol.3.No.1, Dec 2011, Molua,E.L., Rural Development and Agricultural Progress, Challenges, strategies and the Cameroon Experience”, Discussions papers, No.36,2002., Fogwe,Z,N., “ Agrarian Community Wetland Resources as Triggers of the Intermittent Interaction Conflicts in the Bali Nyonga Basin of the Western Highlands of Cameroon”, in the European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Vol.3No.9,201. These articles exposed the future negative scenarios that the community of Banten may be exposed to and equally proposes strategies that positive steps could be taken to avoid the situation.
What generally influenced the need for the derived strategy to LELIV is that these authors have captured a collection of conflict sensitive ideas common to Banten village as well as the entire grass field. For instance Kiven Flora demonstrated that Irish potatoes cultivation in Banten played and indispensable role in the economy of the area with great impacts on the life of the indigenous population despite the problems faced by the sector. The study identified these challenges one of them being stray animals. It recommended government support and structures to prevent this problem affecting this sector. In the inclusive component LELIV saw the need for a support system that will create co-existence, protecting also farmers and grazers since crop farming is also as important as animal rearing. All these creates employment and support the livelihoods of both the indigenous population (majority on crop farming and minority grazers)
In Kiven Flora’s works also the economy of Banten before mid-20th century when compared to other rural communities in the region has been sustained by agriculture. That is why LELIV among other reasons designs this project owing to the fact that the Anglophone Crisis is down playing efforts of administration both municipal, deconcentrated institutional efforts.
Ø Soil Types and the correlation to climate changes and conflict:
Two main soil types exist in Banten characterizing the pressure over land which is an indirect influencing factor to conflicts. Lateric loamy soil, found mostly in low lying areas, clayey soils found around valleys areas is a bit deeper in the ground used for sundry blocks and loamy soils are used for farming. Crops like irish potato, cabbage, carrot and spices are grown on rich valley soils. However eucalyptus trees are planted in some areas with few cypress trees which are heavily leached soils. Two main factors that determine the choice of Land for the settlement and agricultural type are relief, soil structure and availability of water resources. However with increasing effect of climate change like droughts, prolonged dry seasons, shortage of water, lack of pasture etc contribute to cattle and goat storming valleys in search of water and pasture.
Generally, level land with hard soils is preferred for housing which are constructed on plain land and mostly steep slopes which might be a challenge with more shortage of land in future exposing the local population to land slide and more effect of erosion.
Ø Topography
The village topography is characterized by a wide variety of relief, with altitudes ranging from 1300m to about 2600m sea level justifying the existence of high altitude part of the area in between mountain chain linking most part of the western highlands to Noni-Oku, Nkum-Dumbo-Nkambe, to Kumbo-Ndop and West Region of Cameroon positioned at Meridian 10`35 Parallel 6`21 with altitude 1800m.
The Mission of LELIV in Rural Areas between 2022-2024
LELIV team designs planning and implementation approaches that capture conflict sensitive processes in community solution project. The commission is charged with community engagement and structural team building for sustainable community systems through dynamic agricultural solutions, identifying community resources and inputs and engage partners, capacity building for stake holders with different components and inputs to form a holistic support system to the entire community for sustainable growth. We are presently in a humanitarian Crisis in North West and South West Regions and 80% of your beneficiaries are women and the Youths affected by war through displacements, lost property and means of livelihoods, Promoting organic market gardening, community empowerment for improved food security, Wealth building with focus on the rural community reducing rural exodus through optimal and sustainable use of natural resources and Conflict management via local support systems in high pressure rural agricultural resources to promote community peace and co-existence.
The vision behind this commission is to build resilient and dignified communities through sustainable resource management with a focus on organic agricultural practices. We also advocate for enabling environment, sustainable natural resource management and food security framework through appropriate training and assistance, with focus too on the respect for human dignity and promotion of gender equality. With our unique value proposition which is “Our Community, Our Strength, together we are unstoppable”.
My area is faced presently in a humanitarian Crisis (Anglophone crises) and also the COVID-19 pandemic, and 80% of the most affected group are women and youths especially the girl child (the vulnerable), thus our top most beneficiaries are women and youths who are most affected by this war through displacements, lost property and means of livelihoods.
So (our) target is to bring farmers together for sustainable development programs;
- Advocate for an enabling environment for development by being the voice of the voiceless, through networking with the traditional leadership structures.
- Educating the masses especially the vulnerable about entrepreneurship and sustainable natural resource management and food security frameworks through appropriate training and assistance.
- Young girls who drop out of school and needs employment skills under vocational training programs (powder and bathing soap production, honey juice production, beads making etc).
- End poverty in all its forms everywhere inclusively with minorities and all sorts of diversity and inclusion.
- Eradicate extreme poverty (reduce poverty by at least 25%) in rural communities by 2030.
- Implement social protection systems in farming communities.
- Promote equal rights to ownership, basic services, technology and economic resources in rural communities through more awareness raising as the population is in need of information on how to use the community as a support system to social cohesion than as a driver of conflict.
- Foster dynamistic synergy, partnership and human development with endeavors to create more inclusive, fair and sustainable communities by holistically embedding the concept of relevance in local solution to local problems to improve on the health, wealth and that of the future generations in rural communities.
- LELIV is out to promote knowledge on the management of inputs, marketing boards or cooperatives in the local community through support systems and partnerships
The Entire Program of LELIV Is Uniquely Designed With Multi-Level Components:-
Component 1:
There is need to empower the local community on co-existence strategies. The coming of UNVDA (Upper Noun Valley Development Authority) has played a great role in history as pressure over the scarce agricultural resources increased .Climate change might have been the greatest enemy. The expansion of the Sahel droughts in recent years gave a serious warning for positive checks in this dimension. Imagine the case of droughts, desertification locust crisis, and lastly annual crops failures because of cattle or animal invasion of farms and imagine the effect to communal peace. The host population, internally displaced population inclosing farmers will be trained on organic powder, soup production, organic bathing soap production, honey juice; transformation of farm produce and other agricultural techniques that compliment any rural farming type with environmental friendly techniques to sustain the program with support of most of the resources found in the locally and it will create employment for some. Imagine in 1970s WADA (Wum Area Development Authority) was put in place to train extension workers in animal traction, tree crop nursery, cattle husbandry and new farmer-glazier co-existence strategies .Unfortunately closed in 1989 and it might have been a better way to build community co-existence.
Component 2: Pilot Project in Community Support System
LELIV is will work closely with some social enterprises with a powerful market research tool to incorporate access to credit facilities. SODEPA was given land in Dumbo to create a cattle range and if these projects were centered on community support strategies with participatory strategies the project could have been sustained.
LELIV supports local farmers to join the MBAM network and also incorporates community investment components as a support system. MBAM is e-commerce financial institution which will help farmers as money transfer agency to facilitate farmers cooperatives, financing of local projects and marketing of products by bringing buyers and sellers together. They also act as a source of financial resources to new bread climate friendly farming projects. It is a start-up that is partnering with LELIV a support system to local communities that will respond to social inequalities, facilitating access to credit to local farmers in communities affected by the present armed conflict since presently no banks operates in Bui Division, North West Region of Cameroon as many have lost access to credit facilities, mostly farmers since the crisis started in the region.
With the achievements already registered as mentioned above, LELIV believes that by 2023 if given the chance of supported financially, more persons will be trained. We are targeting about 750 farmers, thus guaranteeing sustainability and promoting value chain.
Component 3: Bringing To Source Local Community Diverse and Inclusive Partnerships.
The idea of making Ardo in the Banten area the head of the conflict management committee on farmer-grazer issues spans from the need to add the voices of majority and minorities on peace building programs among local farmers. Since its creation in 1992, MBOSCUDA (The Mbororo Social and Cultural Association by virtue of it works has continued to add the voices of the minority Mbororos to peace building and reducing the negative effects of inter-communal conflicts. In the days of Dr.Jeffrey’s works in the 1940s, the initial success of his project’s success demarcating land for grazing purposes was due to the tact and good sense of the Ardo and the local chief at the time in the area even though the increasing demands for land by both grazers and farmers slowed down the process and killed the initiative.
LELIV cannot build such initiative in Bui alone, it works with communities, traditional leaders, religious groups, civil society etc. It also grows inspiration from past and present structures. In 1944-1965 a concept of mixed farming was introduced in farming areas and rotational systems were adopted which improved relations between farmers and grazers. LELIV is working on strategies to see how each farming approach is useful to the other and how resources can be integrated, partner through formal engagements and LELIV will work with Himalayan Institute Cameroon, Justice and Peace Commission Kumbo Diocese, MBAM, Enough for All Organization (EFAO) to develop community integrating approaches.
This will really go a long way to impact change and growth, thus ensuring sustainability in the community.
Since colonial era till date land pressure has continued to create conflict in the grass field. Since2001 the privatization of Ndu, Tole tea estates saw tensions and the needs to create more land where cattle could graze which saw the mounting of pressure in Sabga, Kejom Keku, Wum and Esu and the herder farming relationships have remained tensed. Climate challenges, also increase in populations in surrounding villages have continued to increase these tensions. The authorities continue to improve strategies to suppress these tensions like the Barbed Wire Scheme with the coming of 1952-1975 resistance.
LELIV draws some ideas from attempted solutions, instruments of prevention and as a point of departure the case of Banten is not draw in isolation. Remember in 1979 some Nso women took their fon hostage , remember the Mesaje invasion of Bessa-Messaje in 1996 when violence erupted between farmers-herders as a result of conflict hegemony over land between indigenous farmers and Ahadji Ndemsa, in 1968, the court fined 8 Esu women for Nkambe,Menchum,Esu Memori’s grazing land at Melang. Mass killing of cattle by thunder strikes between 1969 and 1975 , attempts made by three herders, sale,sule and Labi to poison palm wine in wineghi, the keiema and wabvou bushes massive temale demonstrations against cattle trespass into their farms in 1982, the tension between Baba Danpullo and the Ibi Wundelle in 1987 over the creation of the Elba cattle ranch in Esu, the Esimbi-Massaka confict in Menchum, the boycott of market by aghem women in December 1972, march of 8000 Aghem women to Bamenda in February 1973 a commission was formed called Nseke Commission to probe into the root causes of the protracted conflicts in wum between farmers and graziers, mass boycott of wum cattle market by the Mbororo herders in 2005, mass demonstration of Bambili women in Meam-Bambili in 1958, Awing-Bambuluwe invasion of grazing land by female farmers and confrontation with graziers in April 1951,Kedjom Keku confrontation between local farmers and (Big Babanki) late Jurebure at the kwinchum part of Kefem in 1980s, the 1990s cattle crisis in the Kimbiin-Ngai farming area in Bamten village and the case between herders and over 10 women farmers over the crop crisis in Kimbiin, in 1968 40 Bammessing women were imprisoned in Ndop. Land consultative boards have been the only platforms in recent times with agric-delegates mediating land crisis between farmers and the herders but how effective has this been. Court cases continued to be pending but the coming of the Anglophone Crisis has been a dead bow to these commissions and peaceful co-existence among farmers and grazers in the North West Region in hinterland communities remains a huge challenge. The formation of local commissions for conflict management by the civil society is a technical support to build community structures to facilitate co-existence among the rural population.
Eventhough, preventive measures were already put in place since the 1940s. Dr.Jeffreys had begun the task demarcating grazing land, 1941-1945 in Bamenda grasslands and by 1945 had completed the Wiya Native Authority Area in the villages of Sinna,Nsob,Ntumbaw and Ngelu. As a British administrator, Dr.Jeffrey was given a task to demarcate the Bamenda area which was a division at the time.
He never went around the present South West Nkum where Banten is found but his works from 1941 touched Donga Mantung and Bui Divisions. His work started in Nso Land under the Nso Native Authority Area in 1945.
Banten is a rural community of about 5000 inhabitants with 40% herders and 60 % farmers and the rate of stray animals and crop distruction has been alarming. “The main cause was a lot of stray animals in Banten, goats, sheets, cows… peoples’ crops were destroyed leading to conflict in communities... Second cycle cropping was not the best and that was what caused me to come up-with this training and then the commission was formed as follow-up to the identified problem”-Nghenghan Elffrida N.
BONGWONG JUSTIN 02 April 2022
Sources:
-“Knowing more about Banten Village”-Bongwong Justin Berinyuy (2016)
-“The Role of Globalization in Typical African Village”- Bongwong Justin Berinyuy (2014)
-“The Bamenda Grassfield Lexicon of Farmer-Grazier Conflicts 1909-2006”, Venatius Kum Nwoh (Ph.d).
-Irish Potatoes Production in Banten Community (Nso) 1975-2016: A historical Survey by Wirgo Kiven Flora supervised by Dr. Nixon Kahjum Takor, lecturer of History_HTTC, University of Bamenda (2016).
- “Patterns and Trends of Farmer-Grazers Conflicts in Mbven Sub-Division ’’ Dipes 1 Dessertation, Department of Geography HTTC Bambili, 2015.
-B.F Nsabin, “Belief Systems among the Nso People: Continuity and Culture 1884-1960 HTTC Bambili, 2014, p.14.
- E.M Chilver and P.M Kabberry,Taditional Bamenda. The Pre-colonial History and Ethnography of the Grassfields, Buea, P.22
- Polly Hill, Some characteristics of Indigenous West African Economic Enterprise”,quoted by H.Tony
-Scot, W.E and Mahaffey,M.G., “Agricultural Marketing in the North West ..” Report for USAID, Office of ARDC,June 1980.
-Takor,N.K. & G,M.B ., “ The Political Implications of the trade in the Bamenda Grassland ”, in Pan-tikar journal of History,Vol.1,No 1.
-Ojong,N., “ Livelihoods strategies in African Cities: The Case of Residents in Bamenda,Cameroon”, in African Review of Economics and Finance,Vol.3.No.1, Dec 2011.
-Molua,E.L., Rural Development and Agricultural Progress, Challenges, strategies and the Cameroon Experience”, Discussions papers, No.36,2002.
-Fogwe,Z,N., “ Agrarian Community Wetland Resources as Triggers of the Intermittent Interaction Conflicts in the Bali Nyonga Basin of the Western Highlands of Cameroon”, in the European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Vol.3No.9,2014