Herder and Crop Farmer Conflict: A Perspective in North-Central Nigeria

Conflict in the Nigerian agricultural community has in recent times attracted attention at the national level, this is because crop farmers have fled their communities due to the violence. This study was conducted in the north-central region of Nigeria to investi-gate the conflict between crop farmers and herders in the area. The study used the random sample technique, where one hundred and twenty crop farmers were sampled and interviewed from selected communities. Descriptive statistics, Likert-type scale, and Chi-square were used for the analysis. Observations revealed that the farmers are aware of the existence and location of the stock route. Results revealed that the triggers of conflict between the two stakeholders in the agricultural community include rape, rus-tling, crop damage, pollution of the water point, access to grazing lands, and bush burning. The implications of the conflict include loss of property, loss of lives, and crop damage. Identified institutions involved in resolving conflict in the area are traditional insti-tutions, farmer associations, local government authorities, and the court of law. The study further revealed that the institutions’ effectiveness in resolving conflicts varies with the triggers. The analysis further reveals that the traditional institution is the most effective in managing the conflict but the least used avenue in the study area. Therefore, it was recommended that grazing reserve demarcation for herdsmen should be carried out along the various grazing tracks to avoid encroachment into farmland.