Farmer-pastoralist conflicts in the Kilosa district of Tanzania: A qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives on causes, impacts and responses

Abstract

This study applies a qualitative approach in examining the stakeholder perspectives on the causes and impacts of, and responses to, the farmer-pastoralist conflicts. The study is primarily a response to the broader stakeholder concerns surrounding the farmer-pastoralist conflicts in the Kilosa district of Tanzania. The interdisciplinary approach and, more importantly, the environmental security and political ecology theories, were used for conflict analysis in a bid to determine the gaps in the existing body of the literature. Specifically, the study aimed at determining: first, the causes of the conflicts in question driven by the growing concern around the increasing land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in the district; second, the impacts of the conflicts and respective implications to the causes and conflict management mechanisms; third, the relevance of the conflict management mechanisms in place. The study adopted a case study design drawing from a range of qualitative methods involving semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis for collecting and analysing the stakeholder perspectives obtained from the field. The study then reveals that farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Kilosa district are mainly grounded in the broader domestic and external socio-political forces. The escalation into violence, however, depends mostly on resource scarcity driven by climate change manifesting as drought. In this regard, the lone environmental scarcity-conflict nexus is found to be less significant in causing farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Kilosa, a finding underpinning the political ecology’s structural influence. The study finds that the use of multistakeholder bricolage institutions is more relevant for addressing these conflicts in Kilosa district.