Promoting Peace and Managing Farmer-Herder Conflict: The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Agogo, Ghana

Abstract

Continued clashes between nomadic pastoralists and farmers generate concerns about the capacity of community-based civil society organizations to effectively navigate conflict resolution in Agogo Traditional Area (ATA), Ghana. The Agogo and Fulani associations ostensibly manage farmer-herder conflict but with mixed results. Setrana argues that, unlike foreign or international civil society organizations, community-based associations play important roles in managing conflict because they often have better cultural understanding. The success of such organizations, however, depends on whether they are perceived as indigenous or non-indigenous. This binary framework often leads to a winner-takes-all attitude and rarely results in sustainable conflict resolution.