A picture of cattle in the Equatoria region. | Credit | Courtesy

Jonglei State Minister of Peacebuilding has recommended inter-communal peace dialogue and the protection of civilians and their properties as key solutions to address the cattle herders-farmers conflict in the country.

Persistent conflicts in the Equatoria region involving cattle-keeping and farming communities have been reported in the past decade, prompting President Salva Kiir to issue an order in 2017 for cattle evacuation from the region.

On Thursday, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) partnered with the UN migration agency (IOM) to facilitate a two-day high-level conference for stakeholders from Central Equatoria and Jonglei to discuss ways to address conflicts resulting from cattle migration.

Addressing the conference, Jonglei Minister Gabriel Malual said there is a need for the government to provide security to minimize violent conflict among the communities.

“If we as a government could provide security and could provide measures on cattle migration, there would not be conflict of this kind in the Equatoria region or in the Jonglei estate,” Mr. Malual said.

He also called on both cattle keepers and farmers to embrace dialogue to address their grievances rather than resorting to violence.

“I would like to call upon our people that this country belongs to all of us. We should not take guns as a solution to our problems. Dialogue is the best way to address some of these challenges.”

“Moving forward, the people of Equatoria and Jonglei should find amicable solutions through dialogue. Even if we fight ourselves, we will not find solutions to these cattle herders and farmers’ conflicts.”

On his part, the National Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo, agreed with the suggestion and further recommended that states come up with bylaws to ensure cattle owners who leave their livestock in farmlands are punished.

“When there is movement of livestock, there needs to be dialogue between the host and the cattle keepers so that corridors are opened where the cattle are supposed to be moving and where the farms are,” said Adigo.

“So if we do that, we agree that now this is the corridor where the cattle can be grazing, but they are not allowed to come to where the farms are here.”

“But I would also advise that the states need to develop laws guiding the intervention of livestock into the farms, and when they enter the farm, they should be caught, and the person having the cattle should be accounted for and made to pay for this.”

On November 11, a traditional leader at Lokiliri Payam in Juba County expressed concerns about an influx of livestock that were reportedly grazing on farmlands in the harvest season.

Kastori Modi, the chief of Ngerjebe in Lokiri Payam, complained about the loss of crops and the risk of violence, a situation that brings back memories of the 2022 violent conflict where 10 farmers were killed by herders there.

Mr. Modi said the cattle have been coming from the side of Juba, adding that he had notified the local security authorities since September to ensure the issue is addressed beforehand.

However, he said despite the early warning, the matter had not been resolved and appealed to the government to take immediate action before tensions escalate further.