The vast majority of the rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa depends on land as their main source of income and food. This thesis is exploring the implications of land use conflicts for food security. This issue is pursued on the basis of a case study of the Tanzanian village Tindiga in the region of Morogoro, where land use conflicts between farmers and herders (primarily Maasai) have been persistent over decades. However, in recent years the conflict has erupted into violent escalation.
The methodical approach of the empirical research is based on qualitative data collection methods, of which 16 semi-structured household interviews as well as group discussions with residents of Tindiga village form the core of the research. Additionally, expert interviews, in-terviews with government officials as well as research activities with members of the Maasai community were conducted. The link between food security and land use conflicts could be demonstrated as the collected data showed that all four dimension of food security -availabil-ity, access, utility and stability- had been affected by the land use conflict. It was further shown that the conflict is determined by socio-political structures and processes that shape the utili-sation of the natural resource land. These dynamics clearly represent the nature- society in-teractions that are research subject of social ecology. Put in a broader context, the intensifi-cation of land use competition is determined by global developments such as population growth, climate change and other to some extent human-induced environmental deteriora-tions. The increased competition triggers land use conflicts and ultimately affects food security.