Background

Cattle herding is incredibly important for the Chadian economy, for people's lives and livelihoods.

But the old systems of peaceful herding through farmland are under threat from a number of shocks, including the politics of the region and climate change impacts from flooding and drought.

This means cattle in the north of Chad need to move further south to avoid drought. Added to that are pressures from increasing commercial agriculture in south-west Chad and flooding in the south-east, and there is over-grazing of grasslands in the south. Then herders are forced to move across the border into CAR.  

The pressure of all this cattle movement through settled farmland is what creates conflict. If you are moving your clan's entire wealth through a new area, with people around whose systems you don't understand, you will be anxious, easily threatened and possibly aggressive towards those people to protect that wealth. Conversely, strangers moving vast numbers of cattle right next to your planted crops will also make the settle population anxious and protective.

This is the situation we aim to help in Chad.