Livestock Owners Warn of Rising Farmer-Herder Conflicts Amid Land Disputes, Violence, and Animal Poisoning

By Seedy Jobe

The National Livestock Owners Association has raised concerns about escalating disputes between farmers and livestock owners, warning that weak land management, animal poisoning, and occasional violence are deepening tensions in rural communities.

Ebrima O. Jallow, president of the National Livestock Owners Association, or NaLOA, said Monday that one of the most persistent sources of conflict was the lack of formal documentation for cattle tracks—traditional routes used to move livestock between communities and grazing areas.

Speaking on QTV’s “This Morning” program, Mr. Jallow said many of the routes were established through longstanding community agreements but were never formally documented. That, he said, has left them vulnerable to encroachment and sale as demand for land increases.

He cited cases in the West Coast Region where cattle tracks had been sold and said similar disputes in the Central River Region had ended up before the courts.

Mr. Jallow also expressed concern about what he described as a weakening of traditional and local authority, saying some residents refuse to accept decisions made by Alkalos, chiefs, and even regional governors.

Farmer-herder disputes, he said, can also become entangled with ethnic and political divisions, making relatively local disagreements more difficult to resolve. He called for stronger enforcement and clearer land-use rules under the country’s new national land policy.

The tensions have, in some instances, turned violent. Mr. Jallow said livestock had been deliberately poisoned in some communities and pointed to an incident last year in the Lower River Region in which a herder was allegedly shot and killed by a farmer.

“If some animal enters into your crop, the best thing you can do is report the person to the authority,” Mr. Jallow said. “But you don’t have the right to kill an animal.”

Crop damage caused by roaming livestock has long been a source of friction between farmers and herders, particularly in rural communities where farmland, grazing areas, and livestock corridors often overlap.

Mr. Jallow said NaLOA was working with government institutions to train community conflict referees who could intervene in disputes at the local level, with the aim of resolving disagreements before they escalate into violence or lengthy legal battles.