Herding ourselves into hunger: The unintended consequences of climate-induced migration of herdsmen on food insecurity

Afa Aminu stands there on his farm, surrounded by the destruction of his carefully cultivated maize. His hands clenched in anger, his teeth grinding in frustration. This was not the first time Afa Aminu had suffered at the hands of the Fulani migrant herders, but it was the last.

The Fulani herders had not done their part to keep their cattle away, and they had trampled the crop underfoot. Afa Aminu was determined to make a change, and he was ready to do whatever it took to make sure his farm was safe from destruction.

The experience of Afa Aminu is a stark reminder of the rising cost of climate-induced migration of herders. It is also a call to action to address the transnational groups specifically the Fulani, whose nomadic activities are causing food insecurity and regional instability in Africa.

While it is true that the Global North is experiencing a food surplus, the Global South faces a drastically different situation with food insecurity and shortages1. There have been lingering claims that about one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost2.

The causes of this are complex and difficult to tackle, but some of the main contributing factors include inadequate food storage, bad farming practices3 4, and quite Caption: maize farm destroyed by cattle, similar to Afa Aminu’s farm recently climate-induced migration of herders5.

To address this issue of food loss, and food insecurity in Northern Ghana, we must begin by understanding the impact of climate-induced migration of herders on accelerating food loss. Food loss refers to food that is lost at production, post-harvest, and processing stages in the food supply chain6.

The worsening of climate issues such as drought and desertification in the Sahelian countries has made it difficult for Fulani herdsmen to sustain their livelihoods in their home countries, driving them to migrate to Northern Ghana, which offers large grazing fields and herding jobs for migrants.

However, the influx of Fulani into Northern Ghana is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, it has been occurring since the 1910s, when Fulani herders began migrating to Northern Ghana, and the presence of Fulani herders has been a common sight in the region ever since. The influx has been more pronounced in recent times due to climatic factors, such as drought.

These nomadic people traverse the area in search of pastures on which to graze their cattle, often carrying a dry stick across their shoulders and a weather-beaten raft on their head. Despite the recent development of animal husbandry practices, the Fulani nomadic practices have remained unchanged. Hissing is still used to control their cattle, raising the question of whether new herding practices could help to prevent the agricultural challenges brought by their migration.

This migration of the Fulani to the north of Ghana has had a profound impact on the local food security of the communities they move to. With only one rainy season and inadequate irrigation facilities, any yield losses caused by the encroachment of cattle can have a dramatic effect on the food supply8.

This is further compounded by the fact that the majority of the population in northern Ghana relies on agriculture as their primary source of income. An assessment by the World Food Program estimates that the prevalence of food insecurity in the northern part of Ghana is 23-49% compared to 4-10% in the southernmost regions9. This is a stark reminder that the food security situation in the north is dire and requires an immediate and concerted effort to reduce food loss in the value chain.

Additionally, the effects of overgrazing are especially pronounced in rural areas such as Gusheigu located in the North-Eastern Corridor, where the lack of agricultural infrastructure has left the population with few resources to combat the effects of cattle overgrazing10. The frequency of cattle overgrazing can be attributed to adult herders who leave their herding duties to their young children who lack the necessary herding experience, leading to inefficient management of the cattle. This means more cattle overgrazing on farmlands and ultimately food loss.

The migration of herders and encroachment of their cattle into farms has increased the number of conflicts between farmers and herders over the years. The alarming rate of farmer-herder conflicts in northern Ghana has

1. Mbow, C., , C. Rosenzweig,, L.G. Barioni,, T.G. Benton, M. Herrero, , M. Krishnapillai, , E. Liwenga, et al. 2019. "Food Security. In: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems." doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157988.007.

2. Gustavsson, J., C. Cederberg, U. Sonesson, Otterdijk R. Van, and A. Meybeck. 2011. " Global Food Losses and Food Waste. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome." 1-37. http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/mb060e/mb060e00.pdf.

3. Ander, Moreno. 2022. Food Insecurity in Ghana. Accessed December 18, 2022. https://borgenproject.org/food-insecurity-in-ghana/.

4. Atanga, Raphael Ane, and Vitus Tankpa. 2021. "Climate Change, Flood Disaster Risk and Food Security Nexus in Northern Ghana." Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.706721/full.

5. Ahmed, Abubakari. 2022. Farmer-herder conflicts in northern Ghana amid climate change: causes and policy responses. Policy Brief, Megatrends Afrika. Accessed December 18, 2022. https://www.swp-berlin.org/assets/afrika/publications/policybrief/MTA_PB_Ahmed_Farmer-Herder-Conflicts_Ghana_v1.pdf.

6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2013. "Food wastage footprint Impacts on natural resources: Summary Report." https://www.fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf.

7 Tonah, Steve. 2006. "Migration and Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Ghana's Volta Basin." Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines Vol. 40: pp. 152-178 (27 pages).

8. Ander, Moreno. 2022. Food Insecurity in Ghana. Accessed December 18, 2022. https://borgenproject.org/food-insecurity-in-ghana/.

9. Osman, Balikisu. 2022. Climate risks and household responses to food insecurity in northern Ghana. Accessed December 18, 2022.
https://euc.yorku.ca/research-spotlight/climate-risks-and-household-responses-to-food-insecurity-in-northern-ghana/.

10. Ahmed, Abubakari. 2022. Farmer-herder conflicts in northern Ghana amid climate change: causes and policy responses. Policy Brief, Megatrends Afrika. Accessed December 18, 2022. https://www.swp-berlin.org/assets/afrika/publications/policybrief/MTA_PB_Ahmed_Farmer-Herder-Conflicts_Ghana_v1.pdf.

caused great concern to the people of northern Ghana. The local communities have been affected by the rise in deaths and destruction of property due to the conflicts. This has been further compounded by the lack of reporting of the conflicts to the local chiefs and authorities, leaving the true extent of the destruction unknown.

In recent times, the violence has intensified, with several notable examples being in 2011, 2013, 2019 and 2022. The attack in December 2011 saw the burning of homes and cattle of herdsmen, resulting in numerous deaths and displacement of families.

The complexity of this conflict is further compounded by the fact that the majority of these cattle are sometimes owned by Ghanaian citizens, and the migrant herders they employ to tend to the cattle are from outside of the country. This leads to a paradoxical situation where the cattle are considered Ghanaian, but the herders are considered strangers.

In such cases, it is often difficult to identify who is responsible and what actions need to be taken to resolve the conflict. As a result, the inhabitants of the north feel that the best way to deal with their food loss issues is to target the Fulani as objects of their cruelty instead of taking their grievances to law enforcement agencies.

This is an understandable feeling, as these people feel that reporting the Fulani will not provide them with the immediate justice of getting their losses compensated for by the Fulani. However, this is a concerning trend, as it can lead to an increase in violence in the region, which can further exacerbate the cycle of conflict that has been plaguing the region for a long time.

It is evident that the Fulani are a major contributor to food insecurity in the North due to their herding practices.

In order to reduce food losses and waste, it is essential to provide the herders with better resources and training. This will enable them to properly manage their herds and help prevent further encroachment into farmers' fields. Additionally, incentives must be created for herders to adopt more sustainable practices that are better suited to their current way of life, and ultimately reduce the likelihood of conflict.

Moreover, it is also important to recognize the fragility of the North to violence and conflict. This can only be addressed through increased efforts to provide resources and training to the herders, as this can help to create a more peaceful environment and reduce the likelihood of further conflict.

Additionally, this may also require the chiefs in the northern region to adopt a participatory approach to resolving farmer-herder conflict and encourage peaceful co-existence. To ensure sustainability, such processes should be led by the communities and should be innovative and inclusive, and acceptable to all parties in the crisis (ie, the herders and the farmers).

Examples of innovative approaches include creating dialogue platforms to encourage open communication and training local leaders in dispute-resolution techniques among others.

Finally, increased funding for research in the area of sustainable animal agriculture to help create better solutions. By addressing these issues, we can start to tackle the problem of food waste and emissions from animal agriculture.

In conclusion, it is clear that the climate-induced migration of the Fulani is a major factor in African food insecurity, and it is essential to take steps to provide them with better resources and training.

This will not only reduce food losses and waste, but it can also help to reduce the likelihood of conflict and violence in the North.