Social contract between farmers and pastoralists in the commune Rugombo, Cibitoke province, Burundi
Country/entity
BurundiRegion
Africa (excl MENA)Agreement name
Social contract between farmers and pastoralists in the commune Rugombo, Cibitoke province, BurundiDate
23 Mar 2006Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreedInterim arrangement
YesAgreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict ()Stage
Framework/substantive - partialConflict nature
Inter-groupPeace process
Burundi: Local ProcessParties
This contract, although signed by the members of monitoring committee, was adopted by sixty thirteen men and women representing farmers and ranchers. They came from all the hills of the Commune RUGOMBO.Third parties
These meetings have been supported by the presence of representatives of the Administration, Justice and the D. P. A. E. and were held in CIBITOKE of 22 to 23 March 2006Description
In this agreement, the pastoralists and the farmers in the commune of Rugombo set out rules for peaceful coexistence
Groups
- Children/youth
No specific mention.
- Disabled persons
No specific mention.
- Elderly/age
No specific mention.
- Migrant workers
No specific mention.
- Racial/ethnic/national group
No specific mention.
- Religious groups
No specific mention.
- Indigenous people
No specific mention.
- Other groups
No specific mention.
- Refugees/displaced persons
No specific mention.
- Social class
No specific mention.
Gender
- Women, girls and gender
No specific mention.
- Men and boys
No specific mention.
- LGBTI
No specific mention.
- Family
No specific mention.
State definition
- Nature of state (general)
No specific mention.
- State configuration
No specific mention.
- Self determination
No specific mention.
- Referendum
No specific mention.
- State symbols
No specific mention.
- Independence/secession
No specific mention.
- Accession/unification
No specific mention.
- Border delimitation
No specific mention.
- Cross-border provision
No specific mention.
Governance
- Political institutions (new or reformed)
No specific mention.
- Elections
No specific mention.
- Electoral commission
No specific mention.
- Political parties reform
No specific mention.
- Civil society
No specific mention.
- Traditional/religious leadersPage 2:
1.2. Claims
We, breeders, call on the farmers to do as follows:
...
- Do not come rushing to lead the cows to the Municipality before having warned the owner and have shown to the elders. - Public administration
No specific mention.
- Constitution
No specific mention.
Power sharing
- Political power sharing
No specific mention.
- Territorial power sharing
No specific mention.
- Economic power sharing
No specific mention.
- Military power sharing
No specific mention.
Human rights and equality
- Human rights/RoL general
No specific mention.
- Bill of rights/similar
No specific mention.
- Treaty incorporation
No specific mention.
- Civil and political rights
No specific mention.
- Socio-economic rights
No specific mention.
Rights related issues
- Citizenship
No specific mention.
- Democracy
No specific mention.
- Detention procedures
No specific mention.
- Media and communication
No specific mention.
- Mobility/access
No specific mention.
- Protection measures
No specific mention.
- Other
No specific mention.
Rights institutions
- NHRI
No specific mention.
- Regional or international human rights institutions
No specific mention.
Justice sector reform
- Criminal justice and emergency law
No specific mention.
- State of emergency provisions
No specific mention.
- Judiciary and courts
No specific mention.
- Prisons and detention
No specific mention.
- Traditional Laws
No specific mention.
Socio-economic reconstruction
- Development or socio-economic reconstruction
No specific mention.
- National economic plan
No specific mention.
- Natural resources
No specific mention.
- International funds
No specific mention.
- Business
No specific mention.
- Taxation
No specific mention.
- Banks
No specific mention.
Land, property and environment
- Land reform/rights
No specific mention.
- Pastoralist/nomadism rightsPages 1-4
After several exchanges with each other, the participants in the workshop have come to the conclusion that these attitudes derive from the following causes:
- the laxity of the cow herders;
- the plethora of herds;
- the shortage of pastures available for the grazing of cows;
- the notorious impunity benefiting herders responsible for damage;
- the nuisance attached to the attitudes of contempt shown by herders;
- the vagrancy of uncontrolled cattle;
- a galloping demography;
- a rapid expansion of herds in the areas of grazing;
- The free entry of cows across national borders;
- a great concentration of herds from the communes nearby and neighbouring countries;
- pathways obstructed for the passage of cows and transformed into fields. After having made a broad overview of these various problems, farmers and breeders have agreed as follows:
1. Commitments and claims of pastoralists
1.1. Commitments
We, breeders, commit ourselves to the following in relations with farmers:
- Prohibit firmly to our shepherds from letting the cows invade the fields and, if that ever happens, seek the forgiveness and discus with the farmers affected so that there is agreement with them for reparation of damages;
- Seek to rapidly ascertain the damage caused by cows, before the herd has left;
- To avoid hurtful words uttered against the farmer.
1.2. Claims
We, breeders, call on the farmers to do as follows:
- Not poison our cows, nor their inflict of injuries or beating;
- Not intimidate herders with the objective of scaring them away so that the cows left to themselves can wander in the fields and devastate large areas;
- Not to imprison cows, in particular those who have to breast-feed calves;
- Not criminalise cows when the latter have not been taken in the fields;
- Do not come rushing to lead the cows to the Municipality before having warned the owner and have shown to the elders. 2.
Commitments and claims of farmers
2.1. Commitments
We, farmers, among farmers take the firm commitment below:
- Not to cause the death of cows, in any way whatsoever;
- Not to impose sanctions ourselves;
- Not to use hurtful words vis-à-vis the farmer.
2.2. Claims
We, farmers, ask of the pastoralists and their livestock as follows:
- Not to graze their cows in our fields, but rather to contribute to protect our produce;
- If the incident is happening, diligently try to minimise the damages;
- Give good instructions to the herders of their cows;
- Not to burn the fields;
- Not to unearth the cassava and steal any other produce from the fields for the purposes of feeding their cattle.
- To avoid to carry weapons of war such as the rifles, grenades and lances during the custody of cows;
- Not to be physically violent to farmers;
- Do not take pretext that the cows kept belong to the authorities
3. Recommendations
3.1. Directed at the administration:
- Avoid take party at the conflicts between farmers and pastoralists.
- To separate the areas of pasture from those reserved to the farms by well-defined perimeters.
- In the Commune of RUGOMBO, prohibit the entry of cows from other Communes and particularly of neighbouring countries.
- Intervene only after failure of amicable arrangements between the parties in conflict or failure of mediation at the base.
- In the programming of projects of public interest, take into consideration the concerns of farmers and ranchers.
3.2. Directed at the legal authorities:
- Do not request pots of wines, because they are in fact of corrupt practices ;
- When the farmer is the complainant and injured, do not compel him/her to endless back-and-forth with the obvious intention to oblige him/her to be denied and losing the trial for having failed to continue due to the discouragement of the delaying tactic. 3.3. Directed at the D.P.A.E.:
- To separate the spaces reserved to agriculture of those devoted to cultures.
- To establish the estimate of litigation, without bias.
- Leave it to the agronomist the competence of assessing the damage before the disappearance of traces.
- Accompany the farmers and ranchers by the contribution of appropriate techniques that can help to improve yields of their farms. 3.4. Directed at the NGOS and other stakeholders / donors
- Support the efforts for strengthening and the dissemination of commitments of parties throughout neighbourhood, and on all the hills of the Commune.
- To help farmers in the granting of equipment watering and support the work of maintaining and maintenance of irrigation channels.
- To assist in the production of reports of the workshop. 3.5. Directed at the Monitoring committee
A monitoring committee shall be set up to ensure respect of the commitments of parties and execute the following mandate defined. - Cultural heritage
No specific mention.
- Environment
No specific mention.
- Water or riparian rights or access3.4. Directed at the NGOS and other stakeholders / donors
- Support the efforts for strengthening and the dissemination of commitments of parties throughout neighbourhood, and on all the hills of the Commune.
- To help farmers in the granting of equipment watering and support the work of maintaining and maintenance of irrigation channels.
- To assist in the production of reports of the workshop.
Security sector
- Security GuaranteesPage 3:
We, farmers, ask of the pastoralists and their livestock as follows:
- To avoid to carry weapons of war such as the rifles, grenades and lances during the custody of cows;
- Not to be physically violent to farmers; - Ceasefire
No specific mention.
- Police
No specific mention.
- Armed forces
No specific mention.
- DDR
No specific mention.
- Intelligence services
No specific mention.
- Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces
No specific mention.
- Withdrawal of foreign forces
No specific mention.
- CorruptionPage 3:
3.2. Directed at the legal authorities:
- Do not request pots of wines, because they are in fact of corrupt practices ; - Crime/organised crime
No specific mention.
- Drugs
No specific mention.
- Terrorism
No specific mention.
Transitional justice
- Transitional justice general
No specific mention.
- Amnesty/pardon
No specific mention.
- Courts
No specific mention.
- Mechanism
No specific mention.
- Prisoner release
No specific mention.
- Vetting
No specific mention.
- Victims
No specific mention.
- Missing persons
No specific mention.
- ReparationsTransitional justice→Reparations→Material reparationsPage 1-2
1. Commitments and claims of pastoralists
1.1. Commitments
We, breeders, commit ourselves to the following in relations with farmers:
- Prohibit firmly to our shepherds from letting the cows invade the fields and, if that ever happens, seek the forgiveness and discus with the farmers affected so that there is agreement with them for reparation of damages;
- Seek to rapidly ascertain the damage caused by cows, before the herd has left;
- To avoid hurtful words uttered against the farmer. - Reconciliation
No specific mention.
Implementation
- UN signatory
No specific mention.
- Other international signatory
No specific mention.
- Referendum for agreement
No specific mention.
- International mission/force/similar
No specific mention.
- Enforcement mechanismPage 4-5
3.5. Directed at the Monitoring committee
A monitoring committee shall be set up to ensure respect of the commitments of parties and execute the following mandate defined.
What is the mandate of committees?
Take part in, to the administrative authorities and judicial had not participated, the commitments and conclusions from the dialog between two days of trade between farmers and ranchers.
Monitor the incidents of invasion of cows in the cultures (ubwone).
Facilitate dialog between the parties in the case of ubwone.
Work with the agronomists to establish the estimate damaged areas in the case of ubwone.
Ensure respect of the contract between the parties.
Ensure the monitoring of meetings during which: a. advice and information can be exchanged b. arrangements may be negotiated on the non-consensual solutions but rows in the possible solutions
The members of the committee are elected by area and represent all the hills of the Commune RUGOMBO. - Related cases
No specific mention.
- SourceCommunity Peace Recovery and Reconciliation: A Handbook for Generating
Leadership for Sustainable Peace and Recovery among Divided Communities (Nairobi,
The National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management (NSC),
Ministry of Provincial Administration and Internal Security, Office of the President;
Agency for Co-operation & Research in Development (ACORD) and United Nations
Development Programme, 2011), pp. 59-62
Social contract between farmers and pastoralists in the commune Rugombo, Cibitoke province, Burundi
For several years there has been such an entrenched disagreement between farmers and pastoralists in the commune of RUGOMBO, in the Province CIBITOKE, that in certain places the two parties do not even greet each other.
Offences such as the slaughter of cows and the murder of shepherds have already been registered, highlighting difficult cohabitation between the two groups.
After several exchanges with each other, the participants in the workshop have come to the conclusion that these attitudes derive from the following causes:
- the laxity of the cow herders;
- the plethora of herds;
- the shortage of pastures available for the grazing of cows;
- the notorious impunity benefiting herders responsible for damage;
- the nuisance attached to the attitudes of contempt shown by herders;
- the vagrancy of uncontrolled cattle;
- a galloping demography;
- a rapid expansion of herds in the areas of grazing;
- The free entry of cows across national borders;
- a great concentration of herds from the communes nearby and neighbouring countries;
- pathways obstructed for the passage of cows and transformed into fields.
After having made a broad overview of these various problems, farmers and breeders have agreed as follows:
1. Commitments and claims of pastoralists
1.1. Commitments
We, breeders, commit ourselves to the following in relations with farmers:
- Prohibit firmly to our shepherds from letting the cows invade the fields and, if that ever happens, seek the forgiveness and discus with the farmers affected so that there is agreement with them for reparation of damages;
- Seek to rapidly ascertain the damage caused by cows, before the herd has left;
- To avoid hurtful words uttered against the farmer.
1.2. Claims
We, breeders, call on the farmers to do as follows:
- Not poison our cows, nor their inflict of injuries or beating;
- Not intimidate herders with the objective of scaring them away so that the cows left to themselves
can wander in the fields and devastate large areas;
- Not to imprison cows, in particular those who have to breast-feed calves;
- Not criminalise cows when the latter have not been taken in the fields;
- Do not come rushing to lead the cows to the Municipality before having warned the owner and have shown to the elders.
2.
Commitments and claims of farmers
2.1. Commitments
We, farmers, among farmers take the firm commitment below:
- Not to cause the death of cows, in any way whatsoever;
- Not to impose sanctions ourselves;
- Not to use hurtful words vis-à-vis the farmer.
2.2. Claims
We, farmers, ask of the pastoralists and their livestock as follows:
- Not to graze their cows in our fields, but rather to contribute to protect our produce;
- If the incident is happening, diligently try to minimise the damages;
- Give good instructions to the herders of their cows;
- Not to burn the fields;
- Not to unearth the cassava and steal any other produce from the fields for the purposes of feeding their cattle.
- To avoid to carry weapons of war such as the rifles, grenades and lances during the custody of cows;
- Not to be physically violent to farmers;
- Do not take pretext that the cows kept belong to the authorities
3. Recommendations
3.1. Directed at the administration:
- Avoid take party at the conflicts between farmers and pastoralists.
- To separate the areas of pasture from those reserved to the farms by well-defined perimeters.
- In the Commune of RUGOMBO, prohibit the entry of cows from other Communes and particularly of neighbouring countries.
- Intervene only after failure of amicable arrangements between the parties in conflict or failure of mediation at the base.
- In the programming of projects of public interest, take into consideration the concerns of farmers and ranchers.
3.2. Directed at the legal authorities:
- Do not request pots of wines, because they are in fact of corrupt practices ;
- When the farmer is the complainant and injured, do not compel him/her to endless back-and-forth with the obvious intention to oblige him/her to be denied and losing the trial for having failed to continue due to the discouragement of the delaying tactic.
3.3. Directed at the D.P.A.E.:
- To separate the spaces reserved to agriculture of those devoted to cultures.
- To establish the estimate of litigation, without bias.
- Leave it to the agronomist the competence of assessing the damage before the disappearance of traces.
- Accompany the farmers and ranchers by the contribution of appropriate techniques that can help to improve yields of their farms.
3.4. Directed at the NGOS and other stakeholders / donors
- Support the efforts for strengthening and the dissemination of commitments of parties throughout neighbourhood, and on all the hills of the Commune.
- To help farmers in the granting of equipment watering and support the work of maintaining and maintenance of irrigation channels.
- To assist in the production of reports of the workshop.
3.5.
Directed at the Monitoring committee
A monitoring committee shall be set up to ensure respect of the commitments of parties and execute the following mandate defined.
What is the mandate of committees?
Take part in, to the administrative authorities and judicial had not participated, the commitments and conclusions from the dialog between two days of trade between farmers and ranchers.
Monitor the incidents of invasion of cows in the cultures (ubwone).
Facilitate dialog between the parties in the case of ubwone.
Work with the agronomists to establish the estimate damaged areas in the case of ubwone.
Ensure respect of the contract between the parties.
Ensure the monitoring of meetings during which:
a. advice and information can be exchanged
b. arrangements may be negotiated on the non-consensual solutions but rows in the possible solutions
The members of the committee are elected by area and represent all the hills of the Commune RUGOMBO.
[Signatures]
Rugombo Zone:
6 names
Cibitoke Zone:
6 name
This contract, although signed by the members of monitoring committee, was adopted by sixty thirteen men and women representing farmers and ranchers.
They came from all the hills of the Commune RUGOMBO.
These meetings have been supported by the presence of representatives of the Administration, Justice and the D. P. A. E. and were held in CIBITOKE of 22 to 23 March 2006