Ufambe Land and the Conflictual Competition for Agrarian Occupation (Farmers/Farmers) in the South West of Cameroon

Rightly considered as the immovable source of all material wealth, land has always been an invaluable asset in Africa currently retaining 52% of the world’s remaining arable land. Land-related conflicts are gaining grounds in Africa both in scale and intensity. This is well exemplified by the conflict between non-indigenous Ballin and Oliti migrant farmers at Ufambe, in the Messaga Ekol Court Area of Akwaya. Pre-knowledge on the historical background and disapproving socio-cultural behaviors of each group vis-à-vis the other stirred up uneasiness and animosity. Natural solidarity, a fundamental element for customary land security, was inexistent across tribal lines. Insecurity on landownership rights was high irrespective of vastness of unused available forestlands and an accommodating indigenous Assaka host community. In all these, the competition for agrarian occupation of Ufambe was not only in full swing but promised to be inevitably conflictual. The underlying triggering factor of the conflict evidently stemmed from the land-migration relationship and the resultant conflictual competition for agrarian space by two non-indigenous groups. Given the high frequency of rural-rural migration observed within many African communities, the migration factor seems more prevalent than documented. Understanding the interplay between migration, land management and ownership rights of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples within a given geographical space is fundamental to understanding land-related conflicts therein. The study was ethnographic comprising of individual, in-depth and semi-structured interviews with two key informants each from Ballin and Oliti origins.