Farmer-Herder Conflicts: IOM & Partners collaborate on pilot project
Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja.
The International Organization of Migration (IOM), together with Search for Common Ground and Mercy Corps, is collaborating on the pilot project, “Contributing to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa State, Nigeria (COMITAS)”.
The COMITAS project is aimed at strengthening traditional conflict resolution mechanisms by improving access to early warning signals and trends, establishing a transhumance data collection and information management system that will analyze data to identify patterns and trends.
In Nigeria, conflicts between farmers and herders have been fuelled by competition over natural resources due to demographic growth, expansion of human settlements, privatization of land, year-round farming practices, environmental degradation, and climate change.
According to the IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Prestage Murima, “the farmer-herder crisis is affected by environmental factors and climate change, which calls for ecosystem restoration.
“The crisis requires an early warning and early response system and the building of social cohesion to promote peaceful coexistence.
“Amongst the achievements of COMITAS is the establishment of an Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) system. The EWER system consists of the Transhumance Tracking Tool (TTT) information management system, which has been established in 35 communities, peace-building platforms at the community, local government, and State levels in 10 communities in Adamawa State.”
Growing land pressures, social inequalities, changes in land use and access to resources, livestock theft and distrust among communities have made traditional dispute resolution processes ineffective in some areas, contributing to the escalation of the conflict.
Robert Ahidjo of the State Coordination Office for World Bank and other development partners in Adamawa State noted that the COMITAS project is aligned with the policies and priorities of the Adamawa State Government and the needs of communities affected by the farmer-herder crisis.
“I would like to thank all the partners for working on the COMITAS project,” he added.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, who was represented by the Programme Manager for Peace and Security of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Jérôme Rivière, reiterated the EU’s commitment to the promotion of peace and stability in Nigeria:
“The EU intends to continue promoting peace and stability in Nigeria, building on the success of the COMITAS project.
The Country Director Mercy Corps, Mr. Ndubisi Anyanwu, also said that Mercy Corps remains committed towards supporting lasting solutions to address the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria.
“Our negotiation training model has helped strengthen government leaders and community members’ capacity to address natural resource challenges in a participatory, inclusive, and responsive manner, and enhanced community members ability to engage and collaborate with local authorities.
“A point of note is, increasingly women are being called upon by their local leaders to play significant roles in resolving issues between farmers and herders,” said the Country Director of Mercy Corps.
The Senior Special Advisor to Nigeria’s President on Agriculture, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, noted that “the project is improving trust in authorities and enhancing collaboration between farmers and herders communities on natural resources management to enable them to address the challenges they face due to climate change and environmental degradation which has led to increased food insecurity and migration.
“This initiative is making a positive contribution to the National Livestock Transformation Plan.
“It is imperative to scale up the pilot project and reach more communities affected by this crisis.
“It is also contributing to improved inter-communal perceptions by strengthening media outlets’ capacities in conflict-sensitive reporting and broadcasting peace messaging.”
This initiative is funded by the instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) of the European Union.
According to data Transhumance Tracking Tool report of May 2022, about 287 alerts were recorded by the TTT Early Warning tool in May.
These alerts consist of 255 (89%) events and 32 (11%) massive/sudden movements. On average communities have been able to immediately respond to more than 33% of the alerts to prevent the escalation into conflict.
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