The Effects of Land Conflicts On Agricultural Production in Rural Areas

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of land conflict on agricultural production in Njombe District, Tanzania. The study sought to address three objectives which were; to determine the status of land ownership, to examine causes and effects of land on agricultural production, and to evaluate land conflict resolution mechanism. Pragmatic philosophy, mixed approach and descriptive research were adopted. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to sample respondents. A total sample size of 159 respondents was drawn of which only 142 respondents were used in data analysis while the remaining terminated the interview midway, thus was not included during analysis. Data were collected using the interviews and survey questionnaire. Validity of the instruments was ensured through experts review while reliability was calculated in Cronchbanch Alpha r to be 0.980 and this was reaffirmed by the reliability of the overall data which was 0.990. The Statistical package for social science were used in analyzing the data. Findings show that food insecurity, hunger and poverty are the major effects of land use conflicts on agricultural production in Njombe. Moreover, the study found that the conflict between farmers and pastoralists are due to competition for fertile land, poor land laws and regulation enforcement, population growth and land ownership. The study concluded that land conflict had negative effect on agricultural production by reduction agricultural production. The study recommended ratification and enforcement of land laws in Njombe district to guarantee the rights of the people and anyone who contravenes them is punished. Pastoralists and farmers should be given education on the causes and effects of conflict that results to food insecurity, hunger and poverty in order to find amicable ways of solving land conflicts instead of fighting.