Statement by Mr. Abdoulaye Mar DIEYE, UN Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel, at the UNDP Led High-Level Methodology Workshop for Envisioning an Alternative Narrative on Farmers-Herders Dynamics in Africa, Abuja Nigeria, 08 February 2023

The subject we are reviewing during this workshop is certainly one of the most complex political and developmental issues the Sahel region and other parts in Africa, including the Horn & Central Africa, are facing today.
When one observes the various trends in the region one would see that the herders – farmers tension is one of the most exploding trends; recent statistics of ACLED (The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) shows a rate of increase of registered tensions by 7 % per year since 2012, in the Sahel countries.
It is out of frustration of “no-effective global & durable solution in sight” that UN Senior Management has called for a critical strategic review of the way we are addressing the issue, using multiple & collective expertise, to pause, take stock, reflect, and guide, all actors, towards a sustainable exit out of the “tensions” we are seeing in (Read more…)