Implications of the study findings

This study has evaluated the issue and in the following presents recommendations towards conflict resolution and improved food security in the study area.

7.3.1 Conflict Mediation Committee

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In the interim, the KED should enact a by-law to establish a conflict mediation committee in the study villages. The committee should comprise of leaders of key stakeholders thus: farmers, herders, cattle owners, traditional authorities, security officers, assembly representatives and youth groups. First, the committee should be tasked to meet biweekly especially in the dry season to map up strategies to obviate any conflict and discuss issues related to killings,

shootings or physical attacks. Again, all grievances reported to them must be addressed before it degenerates into conflict during their biweekly meetings which will help reduce the frequency of conflict. Finally, they should be given the mandate to settle farmer– herder conflict at the village level and compensations paid in their presence if it involves farm destruction or cattle

rustling/killing. This will help solve complaints by herders that farmers overstate compensation claims which the study uncovered. The composition of the committee will also help to build confidence and trust, which is a crucial instrument in mediation and conflict resolution process.

7.3.2 The need to address institutional failures

It is evident from the findings that the police in the district is under resourced and no police station is in the study villages to maintain law and order. The findings indicate that the police station in Abetifi is the only station with 8-10 personnel that serve the three villages and more than seventeen villages which is a challenge to security in the area. Therefore, it is imperative to establish a station at Hweehwee and Dwerebease to attend to any attacks/violence/conflict as well as improve security. Aside that the police should be provided with all the necessary resources needed since the district police is new and they lack more resources including car to facilitate their duties. Police personnel who are found guilty of taking bribes from cattle owners should be punished and possibly transferred from the area to ensure that the police force remains neutral in finding a solution to the conflict.

Moreover, farmers and herders complained about delays in court process for resolving such conflicts and its being a financial burden since they spend more including transportation anytime the case is to be heard. It is therefore imperative to institute a special department/court with the sole responsibility of adjudicating farmer – herder conflict and ensuring that justice and fairness are delivered. This will restore public confidence in modern courts with regards to farmer – herder conflict resolution.

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Finally, key informants including leaders of settled Fulani herders group (GNACAF) revealed that the crux of the problem is the porous nature of Ghana borders which allow easy entry by nomads from neighboring countries. The findings also show that immigrant nomads cause havoc as they make transits. It is therefore recommended that immigration checks should be

strengthened to ensure that all immigrant nomads who enter the country are duly registered and identified by their country with all relevant details of location, employer details etc. They should also be restricted to a designated location and permitted to stay for a specified period after which they should be return to their country. Aside this, the district should form a task force that will partner with settled Fulani herders to fish out immigrant nomads who go beyond their boundaries and expelled to help regulate immigrant nomads internally. The national government must fully implement Article 1 of the ECOWAS Regulation on Transhumance Between ECOWAS Member States 2003 which seeks to regulate herd movements and take place within the demarcated corridors permitted by member states. This means that grazing reserves must be provided including boreholes.

7.3.3 Long term recommendations

As a long-term solution, it is recommended that at the local level cattle owners, Fulani herders and cattle should be registered and based on that a fodder bank should be established in

Dwerebease enclave with all the needed resources such as water, veterinary doctors etc. It must be remote from crop farming activities and measures set to regulate the activities of both farmers and herders to prevent encroachments, allay fears of destructions and allow both parties to carry their activities in peace.

The state must accept that these two group of farmers will continue to remain in the country and the same area. It is therefore imperative that government policies and laws must seek to find space for the two groups to operate in harmony. For this reason, confinement or ranching system of cattle rearing be introduced to replace open grazing method which has proven to be

incompatible with farming system practiced in Ghana. Thus, a ranch law should be enacted by Ghana’s parliament to control the activities of herders and punishments set should there be any violations of the law. Since operating under ranch system is expensive compared to open

grazing, policies should be implemented by the government to support cattle owners and herders at the initial stage when the law starts operating just like they support crop farmers. The ranch

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system will help to generate employment to many the Ghanaian populace especially the youth than what is presently available. This is mainly because the various aspects of managing a ranch or cattle farm will require the expertise of farmers (growing pastures), herders tending the cattle, marketers and accountants to keep running.

7.3.4 Recommendations for sustenance of food security

The study shows that there is high possibility of food insecurity in the villages if the conflict continues unresolved since some affected individuals are facing food shortage and hunger in their households. Therefore, the following measures can be adopted to solve any food challenges.

First, more Agricultural Extension Officers should be employed to educate farmers about

modern technologies that will help increase their yields such as the applying standard fertilizers, pests and weeds control etc. More to this point is that farmers must be encouraged to use

improved varieties of crops such as obatanpa maize, rapid plantain and cassava multiplication that will take short time on the field but also increase yields. Moreover, the government must support farmers with finances to go into irrigation farming during the dry season to avoid

farmers planting along and around river banks where cattle also depend during the season. Also, traditional rulers should create community buffer stock and farmers sensitized to donate some of their annual harvest for storage. This can be used to support community members/farmers affected by the conflict and excess sold at moderate price during lean season to avoid high prices of food on the market. The monies raised can be channeled into developmental projects in the community/village. Also, farmers should be supported financially by the national government to do more commercial farming. This can be done by employing more youth under the PFJ program that has been rolled out by the current administration which will minimize youth migration to urban centers Whiles farmers’ harvest increase, the local government authorities must purchase them for the school feeding program as well as establish a factory under the government policy

“one district, one factory” to process maize, tomatoes and groundnuts into finished products since they are highly produced crops in the district. This will help to manage waste during bumper harvest and farmers not running at a loss by selling at meager prices. Regarding Fulanis, during conflicts NADMO, MOFA and the government should not limit assistance such as provision of food to only farmers and locals but herders should also be served since the basic

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rights of all individuals should be protected by governments without discriminations. Lastly, herders should be encouraged to start Agro-pastoralism which combines crop production and cattle rearing. This will reduce herder’s dependence on farmers for food. Their cattle could feed on the crop residues. The Research and Extension Linkage Committee should consider this policy and provided the needed education.