Indigenous institutions for collective action in fostering peace for sustainable land management among pastoral and crop farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Indigenous institutions have been alleged as the nested structure crafted to regulate access of natural resources among different rural users. The leadership institutions in pastoral communities were found to be involved in the process of making authoritative decisions in respect of land access and sustainable use of natural resources in pastoral communities. This form of collective action becomes important as it fosters a good relationship between the pastoral groups and their hosts. Sustainable land management for cattle and crop production in pastoral communities is dependent on the prevalence of strong local institutions. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents. Data were collected using Semi- structured Interview Guide. The result shows that Fulani pastoralists and crop farmers had a mean age of 54 and 65years respectively. Fulani respondents maintained that some of the challenges facing them were loose collaboration between statutory and indigenous institutions (44.5%), intrusion of migratory pastoralists (77.5%), illegal entry of new herders (87.5%), and others constitute collective action problems and challenges. Chi-square analysis showed that gender (χ 2 =28.05), Marital status (χ 2 =37.13), education (χ 2 =68.15) and religion (χ 2 =66.11) are significantly related with causes of conflict. The study concludes that intervention and self-regulation are important aspects of collective action processes in promoting peace as well as ensuring sustainable use of biophysical environment. Therefore it is recommended that the leadership institutions should be strengthened and indigenous rules be formalized among different users to enhance their effectiveness in fostering co-operation and reducing biophysical deterioration.