Landgrabbing for Nigeria’s Rice Revolution, Peter Jopke (more...)
“I am informing you; in Nigeria we don’t have a place that we can call our own, especially in Taraba and Gassol. We are extending our cries to the government to look into this topic with compassion. Help us, so we also have a sense of belonging as other Nigerians. We really know we are Nigerians, but the way it seems to us is that government treats as non-citizens. We want the government to know that we are proud to be Nigerian citizens. Whatever has been done in Nigeria should also be extended to us. The cattle routes should be open because that causes the problem between cattle graziers and farmers.”
His Highness,Ardo Guruza, Mutum Biyu
“The demarcation of grazing routes is totally absent in this local government and even in the whole of Taraba State,” says Muhammed A. Musansani, General Secretary of the Gassol Local Government Cattle Graziers Association, “Our cattle are not moving freely on designated areas. As a result, it leads to conflicts between the herdsmen and the farmers.”
“What will stop us from staying in one place?”NomadChief Ardo Guruza
Nomads are not part of any compensation scheme and were apparently excluded from the planning of the project. Dominion’s land acquisition symbolizes Nigeria’s depletion of grazing areas in times of rapid population growth. Chief Ardo Guruza sees the future of his people in settling down at one place:
“If everybody is allocated to his own portion of land and is shown the proper way of planting grass that our cattle will dwell on, what will stop us from staying in that place?”
Therefore, he explains that governmental support is required, especially in the educational sector.
“We used to have nomadic schools, but currently, they are not functioning as well as they are supposed to be. We are pleading to the government to rededicate itself to the education of our children, so that they can be enlightened and move forward.”
But next Harmatan the herdsmen might face already a fence and their accustomed path will be blocked.
Displaced trapped in Poverty?
It certainly looks as if there is no plan and no designated settlement area for possible displaced indigenous people. At least, a senior official of the State Ministry of Lands and Surveys didn’t give a categorical answer on it. Definitely, a monetary compensation would be paid.
A director of the State Ministry of Agriculture reveals that “compensation is the major problem for the government to finally hand over the land to Dominion”. Already, there have been complains because people vacated without receiving any money. “All together, it is a quite substantial amount, so you cannot pay it over night,” he explains. Especially the value of numerous fish ponds contribute to the amount of compensation to be paid.
To be constructed: The road from Mutumbiyu to Gassol
However, once a farmer’s land or a fisherman’s water is grabbed, their livelihood is destroyed if they cannot replace it. Families might be forced to rent pieces of land, even though they receive their payment in time. Money has to be sufficient to acquire new land of the same size and quality. The sudden increase of demand may also increase its price.
Chief Alhaji Idris Chiroma sees no problem in that. According to him, there is a large area beyond the Dominion land where they would be able to relocate – even though there are settlements already. But quite foreseeable, grazing land in surrounding areas is going to be farmed by displaced communities of the Dominion land. By the time, the company has occupied its complete parcel of land, conflicts between farmers and herdsmen are expected to heat up. That is why it is important to note that there are nomads willing to settle down which would have been an opportunity for the government to ease the strain on land and thereby prevent conflicts.
“In Kenya, we saw the people working for Dominion. They live in poverty.”Nigerian trainee
Future will tell if displaced and landless indigenous people trying to feed their families will have no other option than to work for Dominion. In that case, the proposed contract farming scheme could turn out to be rather exploitive instead of tackling poverty. Anyways, it is doubtable if the work of a farmer in a highly mechanized contract farming scheme is going to differ from the one of a usual plantation worker. According to journalist Mary Mwendwa, Dominion Farms in Kenya employs women largely as casual laborers with an average wage of 1.82 dollars per day.
One of the trainees put it like this: “In Kenya, we saw the people working for Dominion. They live in poverty.” At least it is getting a little bit better now, since they have managed to organise themselves.
Finally, the benefit for the citizens of Gassol strongly depends on the realization of promised development actions of the state government. So far, only the construction of the road has finally begun – under pressure from Dominion Farms.
His Highness,Ardo Guruza, Mutum Biyu
“The demarcation of grazing routes is totally absent in this local government and even in the whole of Taraba State,” says Muhammed A. Musansani, General Secretary of the Gassol Local Government Cattle Graziers Association, “Our cattle are not moving freely on designated areas. As a result, it leads to conflicts between the herdsmen and the farmers.”
“What will stop us from staying in one place?”NomadChief Ardo Guruza
Nomads are not part of any compensation scheme and were apparently excluded from the planning of the project. Dominion’s land acquisition symbolizes Nigeria’s depletion of grazing areas in times of rapid population growth. Chief Ardo Guruza sees the future of his people in settling down at one place:
“If everybody is allocated to his own portion of land and is shown the proper way of planting grass that our cattle will dwell on, what will stop us from staying in that place?”
Therefore, he explains that governmental support is required, especially in the educational sector.
“We used to have nomadic schools, but currently, they are not functioning as well as they are supposed to be. We are pleading to the government to rededicate itself to the education of our children, so that they can be enlightened and move forward.”
But next Harmatan the herdsmen might face already a fence and their accustomed path will be blocked.
Displaced trapped in Poverty?
It certainly looks as if there is no plan and no designated settlement area for possible displaced indigenous people. At least, a senior official of the State Ministry of Lands and Surveys didn’t give a categorical answer on it. Definitely, a monetary compensation would be paid.
A director of the State Ministry of Agriculture reveals that “compensation is the major problem for the government to finally hand over the land to Dominion”. Already, there have been complains because people vacated without receiving any money. “All together, it is a quite substantial amount, so you cannot pay it over night,” he explains. Especially the value of numerous fish ponds contribute to the amount of compensation to be paid.
To be constructed: The road from Mutumbiyu to Gassol
However, once a farmer’s land or a fisherman’s water is grabbed, their livelihood is destroyed if they cannot replace it. Families might be forced to rent pieces of land, even though they receive their payment in time. Money has to be sufficient to acquire new land of the same size and quality. The sudden increase of demand may also increase its price.
Chief Alhaji Idris Chiroma sees no problem in that. According to him, there is a large area beyond the Dominion land where they would be able to relocate – even though there are settlements already. But quite foreseeable, grazing land in surrounding areas is going to be farmed by displaced communities of the Dominion land. By the time, the company has occupied its complete parcel of land, conflicts between farmers and herdsmen are expected to heat up. That is why it is important to note that there are nomads willing to settle down which would have been an opportunity for the government to ease the strain on land and thereby prevent conflicts.
“In Kenya, we saw the people working for Dominion. They live in poverty.”Nigerian trainee
Future will tell if displaced and landless indigenous people trying to feed their families will have no other option than to work for Dominion. In that case, the proposed contract farming scheme could turn out to be rather exploitive instead of tackling poverty. Anyways, it is doubtable if the work of a farmer in a highly mechanized contract farming scheme is going to differ from the one of a usual plantation worker. According to journalist Mary Mwendwa, Dominion Farms in Kenya employs women largely as casual laborers with an average wage of 1.82 dollars per day.
One of the trainees put it like this: “In Kenya, we saw the people working for Dominion. They live in poverty.” At least it is getting a little bit better now, since they have managed to organise themselves.
Finally, the benefit for the citizens of Gassol strongly depends on the realization of promised development actions of the state government. So far, only the construction of the road has finally begun – under pressure from Dominion Farms.
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