Social Identity as the determinant of land use conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania: A Case of Tunduru District

Abstract

Land use conflicts between farmers and pastoralist are
common phenomena taking place in different parts of
Tanzania, Tunduru District being one of the affected
places. One of the factors for the endless conflict
between the respective groups was the willingness of the
members of each group to protect their identities and
interests which are directly linked with their key
economic activities namely; crop farming and livestock
rearing. The paper explores the relative influence of
social identity on land use conflict between farmers and
pastoralists. To this end, the paper used comparative
case study design with farmers, pastoralists and Village
Land Council members as respondents. Thus, semistructured interviews, Focus Group Discussions and
Key informants’ interview were used to collect data
while NviVo software version 14 was used for data
analysis. The study revealed that the competing social
identities between farmers and pastoralists has
developed over the years has become part of their
culture. . These conflicts prevailed because none of them
is ready to submit its identity for the public interests.
This signifies the need for the responsible public
authorities to undertake thorough investigation to
identify the needs and interests of each group in order
to come up with sustainable solutions for the common
good.