Abstract            Volume:14  Issue-7  Year-2026         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

This article analyzes the perceptions and prejudices between farmers and herders and assesses their influence on coexistence in the commune of Tchaourou, Benin. Data were collected through individual interviews with 210 respondents (105 farmers and 105 herders) distributed across the districts of the commune of Tchaourou, selected using purposive and random sampling methods. This data was supplemented by semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field observations. Qualitative data underwent content analysis, while relationships between variables were examined using the chi-square test. The results show that perceptions and prejudices are predominantly negative in both groups. Farmers primarily associate herders with crop destruction (68.6%), non-compliance with local rules (17.1%), and being outsiders (8.6%). Livestock farmers, for their part, consider farmers responsible for land grabbing (62.9%) and the occupation of transhumance corridors (20.0%). These perceptions evolve into social prejudices, fueling mutual distrust, the stigmatization of stakeholders, and a climate of constant tension. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62.9%) thus consider coexistence to be problematic. The study concludes that agro-pastoral conflicts do not result solely from competition for resources but also from social constructs that perpetuate mistrust and limit the effectiveness of mediation mechanisms. It recommends integrating psychosocial dimensions into public policies for conflict prevention through intercultural dialogue, awareness-raising, and trust-building initiatives between communities.

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