ABSTRACT
This study investigates the history and political economy of farmer-herder conflicts using field surveys to advance the theoretical understanding of the linkages between agro-pastoralism and farmer-herder conflicts in Northwest Cameroon (NWC). Although the political ecological factors of environmental change and irrational land use policies seem to be the main drivers of farmer-herder conflicts, economic interests of the colonial and postcolonial administrations of Cameroon greatly contributed to the rise and persistence of farmer-herder conflicts in NWC. Using expert and indigenous agro-ecological knowledge, this study identified alternative farmer-herder conflict management strategies, providing a platform for sustainable agro-pastoral development.
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to the two anonymous reviewers and the editor of this journal for helpful comments. I also thank William Moseley and Raymond Tutu for their useful suggestions in the earlier versions of the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Richard Achia Mbih
Richard Achia Mbih is an Assistant Teaching Professor of African Studies in the African Studies Program at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on agro-pastoral sustainability and food security, political ecology, environment and development in Sub-Saharan Africa.