The beginning of the year started with the Canton of Ticino approving our project in Chad for the prevention of conflicts between farmers and shepherds, which break out due to the use of scarce natural resources available.
The fields are used by farmers to grow crops, while shepherds use the land to move their cattle and feed them. Farmers use the water for irrigation, shepherds need water for their animals.
It is therefore necessary to find agreements between the parties and to define rules to be respected, in order to deal with the against poverty and guarantee peace.
In Chad, in the Sila region, COOPI Suisse's project is being implemented, co-financed by the Canton of Ticino, and in technical partnership with the Regional Delegation for Rural Development of Sila and the Ministry of Livestock - Technical service in charge of the zootechnical sector - in collaboration with COOPI Chad.
Almost 80% of the Chadian population lives in rural areas and draws most of its income from primary sector activities. The intervention area includes one of the three eastern regions of Chad, which represent high-risk areas in terms of conflicts generated by the cohabitation of farmers and shepherds.
In this situation, the needs which have been identified through a shared and participatory analysis with the local actors, mainly concern the strengthening of the capacities of the local authorities in terms of management and planning of the territory and of the shared natural resources.