Farmer-herder conflicts and livelihood nexus insights from Kwahu Afram plains south district of Ghana

Abstract

This paper sought farmers, herders, and cattle owners' insights into farmer-herder conflict dynamics and the effects of the conflicts on their livelihood assets. A sample size of 168 respondents comprising 147 farmers, nine cattle owners, and 12 settler herders was employed. After literature review, the study used a blend of semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and interview guides to gather data from respondents. Data were analyzed using inferential statistical tools of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The paper revealed three essential conflict causes related to crop destruction, water pollution, and competition for land, which are mostly non-violent. Farmers, herders, community members (e.g., youth), and cattle owners were the primary actors in the farmer-herder conflicts. Financial capital was most affected (38.1%), and natural capital (12.9%) was the least affected, with critical effects such as competition for water and land resources. It was concluded that the increasing prevalence of cattle crop destruction has the potential to cause food insecurity. The findings imply that attention to conflicts' effects on financial capital is needed to identify holistic interventions, which could be done through a multidisciplinary approach using expertise from different disciplines to achieve oriented results.