Mission PCIA Niger le 18 novembre 2002 (du 3 au 18 octobre 2002)

This report details a Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) mission conducted in October 2002 to evaluate the impact of the Livestock Sector Support Program (PASEL) on reducing conflicts between farmers and herders in the Maradi region of Niger. The mission analyzed how PASEL's strategies—such as securing transhumance corridors and promoting intensive livestock farming—addressed resource competition and systemic inequalities.

• The PASEL program significantly reduced violent conflicts between farmers and herders in the Guidan Roumji and Dakoro districts by identifying and rehabilitating traditional transhumance corridors and resting areas. Since the materialization of these spaces with boundary markers, there have been no reported deaths or injuries resulting from livestock straying into fields or farmers encroaching on pastoral spaces.
• Resource competition is driven by severe demographic pressure, particularly in the Maradi department where the annual population growth rate is 3.9%. This pressure leads farmers to expand cultivated areas into pastoral lands and convert areas around ponds—formerly vital for transhumance—into off-season crop fields, limiting herders' access to water and grazing.
• Herders face systemic insecurity and marginalization due to a lack of representation in power structures and the arbitrary application of the law. They are often subjected to exorbitant fines for crop damage and arbitrary levies by forestry services, with little to no reliable means of legal recourse.
• The mission identifies a deep-seated conflict between three coexisting authority systems: pastoral traditional leadership (based on mobility), agricultural traditional leadership (based on fixed spaces), and the State, which favors fixed land use over mobile activities.
• Ethnic prejudices persist and are often instrumentalized in land disputes, particularly between the Hausa (primarily farmers) and the Peul and Tuareg (primarily herders). There is a recurring prejudice among sedentary populations that Peul individuals cannot own land.
• While PASEL's boundary markers reduced conflict, they created a perverse effect by providing the army with a clear basis to impose arbitrary fines on herders for any livestock straying outside the corridors, even when no crop damage occurred.
• PASEL's approach is based on the 'Interests, Rights, Power' (IDP) model, prioritizing the identification of common interests to foster stability. The mission notes that in Niger, the 'Power' element often dominates over 'Rights' and 'Interests', making PASEL's focus on common interests a critical tool for peace.
• The program promotes a transition toward more intensive livestock farming and encourages herders to establish permanent ties to their home territories (terroirs d'attache) through investments in health, education, and water, reflecting a broader rural trend of combining agriculture and livestock within family units.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2002). Mission PCIA Niger le 18 novembre 2002 (du 3 au 18 octobre 2002). https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_peace_conflict_impact_fr.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Mission PCIA Niger le 18 novembre 2002 (du 3 au 18 octobre 2002). 2002. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_peace_conflict_impact_fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Mission PCIA Niger le 18 novembre 2002 (du 3 au 18 octobre 2002) |date=18 November 2002 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_peace_conflict_impact_fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2002mission, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Mission PCIA Niger le 18 novembre 2002 (du 3 au 18 octobre 2002)}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2002}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_peace_conflict_impact_fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }