Farmers and Nomads: Toward Interlocked Markets of Reciprocity

Darfur’s security situation is leading to an unprecedented shift in pastoralist practices, which scientists indicate could have a long-term and detrimental impact on the environment.

By Albert González Farran

One of the main sources of the conflict in Darfur is competition over natural resources, including water, arable land and other environmental resources that form the foundation for the livelihoods of millions of Darfuris. Many communities in this arid region of Sudan have been surviving for generations in a place where water resources are scarce and where fertile lands are rare. Inter- and intra-communal clashes have erupted over disputes related to these limited resources. One of the main sources of tension leading to these disputes is the seeming incompatibility between the objectives of farmers and pastoralists.

Despite their many similarities, the long conflict between the settled farmers, who cultivate the land for food, and the nomadic pastoralists, who tend to the many different types of animal herds in the region, not only has slowed the pace of Darfur’s economy, but also has created a significant impact on the security situation here. Most of Darfur’s pastoralists have moved their animals seasonally according to the weather patterns. In the past, these cattle movements have been made near croplands, which sometimes resulted in the cattle damaging viable crops and leading to conflicts with farming communities.

In some parts of Darfur, including East Darfur and West Darfur, local-level mediation efforts have led to agreements about when cattle can pass certain areas and how far they must pass from crops. In other parts of Darfur, such negotiations continue but remain unresolved. One of the original conflicts in Darfur dates to the 1932 clashes between pastoralists and farmers over claims to land. In recent years, observers have attributed the steady escalation of such frictions to local authorities neglecting to make formal arrangements for seasonal movement of nomadic pastoralists across Darfur. As the desert continues to encroach on verdant areas, nomadic pastoralists have abandoned the previous routes they have travelled in search of land for grazing. This shift has heightened the tension between the two groups.

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On 5 October 2013 in Forobaranga, West Darfur, cattle traders talk in the market near Sudan’s border with Chad. Forobaranga is said to have one of the biggest animal markets in Africa, with exports to Libya, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID.