Les conflits agropastoraux dans la localité de Bébédjia, au Sud du Tchad : sources, configurations et impacts des confrontations

Abstract

The reflexive structure of this dissertation focused on the socio-spatial crises between farmers and herders in the locality of Bébédjia in southern Chad. However, the secondary sources that have dealt with the issue to date have focused only on land and, to a limited extent, the availability of resources, which are indeed essential elements for carrying out agro-pastoral activities. According to the literature review obtained, these elements are directly indexed when we speak of agropastoral conflicts. However, observation in this locality revealed that the conflict between these two protagonists is not limited solely to land and its resources. Indeed, the socio-spatial crises that pit farmers and herders against each other can also be seen as social effervescence fuelled by a range of factors, including natural and man-made. It should be noted that the agropastoral conflicts observed in Chad, and more specifically in the locality of Bébédjia, have been the subject of state predisposition with a view to easing social cohesion. So the concern of this study is how to explain the persistence of conflicts between herders and farmers in the locality of Bébédjia. The temporary answer to this question is that these conflicts are prolonged because of the absence of a policy of following up the laws enacted and the rejection of transhumance corridors. This situation tends to aggravate social unrest, which is expressed in violence and murder. In order to refute or confirm this response, the method used is qualitative, and the theoretical grid used for analysis is interactionism and multiculturalism, with the aim of measuring the basis of an intertwined relationship. The results obtained from the data collection reveal that agropastoral conflicts persist because of two factors, one of which excludes the direct involvement of actors, and the other relating to the interrelation of actors. The analysis suggests that tensions arise because of non-compliance with established norms concerning the delimitation of activity areas. This situation inevitably leads to the devastation of fields, as well as land disputes fuelled by land grabbing and misleading sales. In the same vein, the resolution of these conflicts remains pending due to certain factors governing these two activities, notably climatic variations which condition the availability of resources. Insufficient resources lead to transhumance, which in turn threatens agricultural activity.