Historical Dynamics of Farmer-Pastoralist Land Conflicts in Morogoro Region, Tanzania: Territorial Claims, Commercialization, and Post-Liberalization Scarcity (1890s–2015)

Abstract

Land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists are a pervasive feature of rural Africa, often attributed to climate change and population growth. This article challenges such Malthusian narratives through a historical analysis of the Morogoro Region in Tanzania from the 1890s to 2015. Drawing on archival research, oral histories, and ethnographic data, we argue that these conflicts are not primarily driven by physical resource shortage but by a politically manufactured scarcity rooted in successive land governance regimes. In the pre-colonial era, flexible, territorial-based systems facilitated coexistence. Colonial land alienation for commercial estates forcibly compressed communities, sowing the seeds of competition. Post-colonial policies, from Ujamaa villagization to neoliberal privatization, further engineered economic scarcity through dispossession and elite capture, transforming land into a contested commodity. While these pressures have catalysed livelihood adaptations among Maasai pastoralists, they perpetuate cycles of violence that threaten regional security. The findings underscore the critical need for tenure reforms that integrate hybrid customary-formal systems and address the historical legacies of land alienation, offering crucial insights for policy amidst contemporary conflicts.