This report seeks to understand the consequence of land reform for conflict in the Borgou and the role of traditional rulers. Specifically, it has sought to explore how farmer-herder conflicts have changed as a consequence of the reform of the Land Code (2017) of Benin.

The report highlights how Benin’s land reforms have brought about a number of changes in the ways in which land is managed. One key change is that land reform plays a role in rising levels of farmer-herder and land conflicts. This involves, on the one hand, the increasing role of individuals with economic and political influence who leverage connections to obtain favourable outcomes. On the other hand, there are negotiated land arrangements that benefit relationships between the communities, but that have been partly undermined by the new law.

What can be done to make land reform work more effectively in the interest of farmers and herders in Benin? How can the political economy of land in the region work less for vested economic and political interests and speak more to the people’s needs?

1. Build on the strong appetite for informal conflict resolution

This report finds that there is an important social capital in Borgou; our data show a strong appetite for negotiated solutions in both the farmer and herder communities. The recent land reforms have limited the room for dispute settlement at the local level; disputes tend to have become more formalized with more outside actors being involved and a larger role for formal state actors (appointed officials, the judiciary and security actors).

The Benin government and its development and security partners should seek to explicitly build in an informal mechanism in the villages to improve dispute settlement rather than having recourse to formal systems. For example, formal cases might require that parties have sought to initially settle cases through informal and established conflict mediation practices.

It might be important in that light to also rethink the role of customary actors. One possibility is to evaluate what room there is for them in conflict resolution. Traditional authorities currently only tend to be involved when tensions have escalated and some form of community healing is sought. Historically, however, their role in conflict resolution was greater and is still generally viewed as positive. Exploring what additional role customary authorities can play might help to build a wide array of informal conflict resolution mechanisms.

2. Explore what role elected government quasi-customary authorities can play

Our data highlights the evolving role of elected governmental authorities that perform customary functions. Even though their formal involvement in land management under the new land reform is limited, it is clear that they are a trusted and often used entity for informal conflict mediation.

As the elected village and neighbourhood chiefs have increasing administrative authority and political relevance, they might potentially play a stronger political role. Yet, what is important is that their ability to maintain legitimacy and deliver positive results is built on their association with customary leaders. Hence, it is advisable that the implementation of the 2021 Decentralization Law continues to strike this hybrid balance between formal and informal sources of authority.

Yet, at the same time, there still remains some scope to better define their roles. What leverages do these actors have in terms of bringing negotiated solutions concerning land up to the level of the formal administration? Is there a need to protect these actors against increased politicization and instrumentalization in order to maintain their legitimacy?

3. Do not underestimate that ‘rewiring’ local authority might generate additional tensions

A long-term problem might be looming on the horizon. The Borgou is a region where customary authorities have traditionally played a more prominent role than in other parts of Benin. Yet, their changing role in dispute settlement and the granting of land rights leaves important questions about their perceptions. This is strengthened by the rise of chef de villages/quartiers which are presently still informally tied to traditional authority structures, but as time progresses and potentially under political influence this position could increasingly drift beyond customary control.

This leads to a set of thorny questions as to how traditional authorities perceive these changes. All authorities, with one exception, refrained from answering questions on how they viewed these changes, but there were non-verbal clues indicating that there may be a degree of resentment. From the wider literature it is clear that altering power configurations around land and the role of local authorities are highly contentious issues that can open a “hornet’s nest of potential conflict over land claims and over competing claims as to who had the authority to settle those conflicts.”[37] A better understanding of how recent land reform changes are perceived by customary authorities and how to begin addressing micro-grievances is a topic that deserves attention.

4. Immediately address problems around ‘negotiated land usage’

There is a need to develop a specific policy concerning negotiated land usage. The formalization of land tenure has put a price on ‘the commons’: areas of land that support local structures that are necessary for the (more) peaceful coexistence of the communities.

All actors (farmers and herders) agree that the State should sanction and potentially protect the transhumance corridors in order to limit conflicts surrounding trespassing and usage by farmers or herders. Even if the national policy is moving towards the sedentarisation of herders,[38] there is still a realization that sedentarisation is an ongoing process and that even settled herders might require these types of land to be used to move their cattle to the markets and on to the larger towns.

5. Support the population in order to withstand pressure from educated and wealthy elites

The administrative-only type of land management system introduced by the land reform makes access to land contingent on only economic power and literacy or the ability to conduct the required administrative procedures. This poses a threat to legitimate ownership claims by illiterate communities. The Benin government should intensively sensitize the communities concerning the legal mechanisms and administrative processes around land access, management and tenure as well as also clearly explaining the powers and attribution of each actor. To formalize existing customary claims, it might be advisable to jointly fill in the required paperwork to allow people to formalize their customary rights.