Effects of Farmers or Herders Conflict on Food Security in Benue State
Keywords:
Food Security, Farmer-Herder Conflict, Benue State, Displacement and Livelihoods and Agricultural ProductivityAbstract
Increase in herds number, due to improved conditions of the cattle, compels the pastoralists to look for more pastures to feed the cattle. Also, improvements in human health due to better health services, increase human population who depend on food crops for survival. These imply that both the farmers and the pastoralists engage in fierce struggles for access to available arable land for cultivation and grazing that lead to conflicts. The intensity and variations of the conflicts depend on the nature and type of the user groups where the herdsmen graze their cattle. Many times, attempts by farmers to prevent them from causing havoc are met with stiff and violent resistance. Most times, the farmers are overpowered, injured, killed while others are evicted from their homes. Sometimes, the herdsmen are accused of taking the opportunities to steal, raze houses, rape women and other innocent citizens are killed. The conflicts constitute serious threats to means of livelihood, food production, lives, property and development. The Fulani constitute the major owners and breeders of cattle that provide the main source of animal proteins and meat in Nigeria. The Fulani own over 90% of the nation's livestock population. The herdsmen and farmers crisis in Nigeria has gained significant attention due to its socio-economic and political implications. Scholars have extensively studied the conflict, offering diverse perspectives on its causes and consequences. For instance) argue that the crisis stems from competition for scarce resources such as land and water. The research adopted research needs theory. Secondary data were used.
References
Abass, I.M. (2012) “No Retreat no surrender conflict for Survival between Fulani pastoralists and farmers in Northern Nigeria”. European Scientific Journal, 8(1), 35-42.
Abdullahi, B. M. (2015). "The Fulani herdsman-farmers conflict in Nigeria: A study of the Jos crisis". The Ibadan Peace and Conflict Journal, 1(2), 1-13.
Abubakar, A. A., & Osuji, O. U. (2019). Fulani farmers' conflict and its effects on sustainable development in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Economics, Business, and Accounting, 11(1), 1-13.
Abubakar, H. U., & Osuji, B. E. (2019). Conflict between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria: A case of Benue State. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 9(6), 51-61.
Adamu, S. L. (2018). Farmers-herdsmen conflict in Nigeria: Evidence from Jos, Plateau state. Trends in Social Sciences, 11(2), 45-52.
Adebayo, M. (2021, May 25). Nigeria's farmers and herders locked in deadly fight over land. Aljazeera. www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/5/25/nigerias-farmers-and-herders-locked-in-deadly-fight-over-land.
Adeoye, O. R. (2017). Farmer-herders conflict in Nigeria: Causes, implications and possible solutions. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 7(3), 169-178.
Adisa, R. S. & Adekunle, O. (2010). Farmer-herdsmen conflicts: A factor analysis of socioeconomic conflict variables among arable crop farmers in north central Nigeria. Journal of human ecology, 30(1):1-9.
Akinwumi, S. O. (2019). The Fulani herdsmen/farmers conflict in Nigeria: A case study of Plateau state. International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sociology and Humanities, 2(1), 165-173.
Akinwumi, I. O., & Olayiwola, A. A. (2018). Conflict over land resources and its implications on sustainable agriculture in Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology, and Food Technology, 12(2), 14-20.
Akinwumi, U., & Olayiwola, G. (2018). The fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict in Nigeria: A review. Journal of Sustainable Development and Security Studies, 5(1), 43-60.
Anderson, A. (2016). Rural actors in farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Benue state, Nigeria: Environmental livelihoods security, agricultural production, and food security. Agriculture and Food Security, 5, 35.
Audu, B. N. (2013). Farmer-herder conflict and conflict resolution in Nigeria: The Miango, Plateau State experience. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 7(3), 7-17.
Blench, J. (2003). Pastoralism and politics in Nigeria: Conflict or coexistence? Journal of Modern African Studies, 41(2), 173-195.
Blench, R. (2010). Conflict Between Pastoralists and Cultivators in Nigeria. Kay Williamson Educational Foundation Cambridge, http://www.rogersbtench.info/RBOP.htm.
Brinkhoff, T. (2022). Brinkhoff's country fact sheets. wwwcitypopulationde/CountryFactSheets.html.
Cinjel, A. T., & Akende, O. C. (2015). Impact of farmers-herdsmen conflict on food security and production in Nigeria: A case study of Benue state. International Journal of African Development and Sustainability, 3(1), 8-15.
Cinjel, N. & AKende, J. (2015). Ethno-religious conflict in Barkin Ladi Local Government of Plateau state.
Cinjel, N. D., Joseph, D. and Ayeni, E. O. (2020) Cattle Rustling and The Protracted Conflict in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. P141.
Coser, P. (2010). Conflict: social aspect (3rd). Macmillan co (3). 83 -90.
Damba, A. (2007). Fulani herdsmen and farmers crisis in Delta state. Available at www.codemint.net. Accessed June 20, 2017.
Damba, M. A. (2017). Conflicts between Fulani pastoralists and local communities in Northern Cameroon: A livelihood perspective. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 11(4), 46-58.
Daramola, A. (2006). Post-conflict reconstruction and community reintegration of former fighters in Sierra Leone. African Security Review, 15(2), 27-40.
Dennis, T. N. and Samuel, O. O. (2021) Impact of Herdsmen-Farmers’ Conflict on Small off-farm Businesses in Benue state. Journal of Economics and Allied Research. P53-54.
Dollard, J., Miller, N. E., Doob, L. W., Mowrer, O. H. & Sears, R. R. (1939). Frustration and Aggression. Yale University Press.
Edegbe, S. A. (2015). Conflict between farmers and cattle herders in Yewa North LGA, Ogun State: Causes, consequences and prospects. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(10), 11-23.
Egodi, C. I. (2010). An analysis of conflict between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in southeastern Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(2), 106-115.
Encyclopædia Britannica. Last modified February 8, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/place/Plateau-state-Nigeria.
Eyekpimi, T. (2016). Nomadic herdsmen/farmers conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: A case study of Delta State. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 6(9), 108-112.
Eze, E. C. (2017). The Fulani herdsmen-farmers' crises in Nigeria: Implications for peace and national security. Journal of International Relations and Foreign Policy, 3(1), 166-180.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2012). FAO statistical pocket book 2012. www.fao.org/publications/pocketbook.
Friedman, H. S., Schustack, M. W. (2014). Personality: classic theories and modern research (5 ed.). Pearson. pp. 204–207.
Global Terrorism Index (2015). Measuring and understanding the impact of terrorism. Institute for Economics & Peace, pp. 1-107.
Hagmann, T. (2003). Mitigating violent resource conflicts in the Somali region of Ethiopia. Paper presented at the ZEF Research Meeting, Center for Development Research, (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, November 19, 2003
Hassan, U. (2019). Violence, displacement, and livelihoods: A study of the Fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict in Jos, Nigeria. Journal of Ecology and Natural Resources, 6(3), 136-147.
Homer-Dixon, T. (1998). Environmental scarcities and violent conflict: Evidence from cases. International Security, 22(1), 5-40.
Human Rights Watch report (2013), the outcome of conflict of Fulani herdsmen and farmers.
Human Rights Watch. (2017). We had nowhere to go: Conflict, displacement and abuses against civilians in northern Cameroon. Human Rights Watch. hrworg/report/2017/04/11/we-had-nowhere-go/conflict-displacement-and-abuses-aainst-civilians-northern.
Hussein, K., Sumberg, J., & Seddon, D. (1999). Increasing violent conflict between herders and farmers in Africa: Claims and evidence. Development Policy Review, 17(4), 397–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7679.00094.
Idowu, A. O. (2017). Urban violence dimension in Nigeria: Farmers and herders onslaught. AGATHOS International Review, 8(14), 187-206.
Ikezue, C. E. & Ezeah, P. (2017). Recurrent conflicts among migrant Fulani herdsmen and indigenous communities of southern Nigeria: A review of literature. International Journal of Health and Social Inquiry, 3(1):152-169
Ingweye, A. O. (2016). Insecurity and challenges of pastoralism in north central Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 21(3), 32-39.
Iro, I. (1994). “Grazing Reserve Development: A Pancea to the Intractable Strife between Farmers and Herders”p.22
Jeffrey, P. & Gerald, R. S. (1978). Resource-dependency theory: open school of management. Available at www.openschoolofmanagement.com. Accessed March 20, 2020.
John, P. O. (2018) Herdsmen/Farmers Conflict and its Effects on Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria. Journal of Peace, Security and Development. P3-6.
Kassam (2016). General concept and causes of conflicts in Jos.
Kim, S. (2023, January 18). Trauma and loss define community in the wake of farmer-herder violence in Nigeria's Plateau State. The Cable. www.thecableng/news/nigeria/352496-trauma-and-loss-define-community-in-the-wake-of-farmer-herder-violence-in-nigerias-plateau-state.
Lamidi, E. (2016). The root causes of farmer-herder conflict and future implications for peace and security in Nigeria. Journal of Human, Social and Administrative Sciences, 19(4), 64-76.
Le Meur, P.-Y., & Hochet, P. (2010). Property relations by other means: Conflict over dry-land resources in Benin and Mali. The European Journal of Development Research, 22(5), 643–659. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2010.44.
Linus C. N. (2019) Herdsmen/Farmers Conflicts: A Threat to Food Production and Democratic Governance in Nigeria. International Digital Organization for Scientific Research, Journal of Applied Sciences. P34-35.
ManpowerGroup. (2023). 2023 Manpower Nigeria salary survey. manpower.com.ng/salary-survey.html
McGregor, A. (2014). Building peace with poverty: A post-conflict livelihoods approach to economic development in Afghanistan. International Development Policy, 5(2), 134-149.
Mikailu, N. (2016, May 5th). Making sense of Nigeria's Fulani-farmer conflict. BBC News. 14th June, 2017 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36139388
Muhammed, A. A., Galadanci, I. A., & Bibi, M. M. (2015). Violent conflict between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria: A case study of Zamfara State. Journal of Management Sciences and Technology, 7(1), 7-13.
Mustapha, A. R. (2017). The Fulani pastoralists-farmers conflict in Nigeria: Perspectives on its origins and possible solutions. International Journal of Rural Development, 4(3), 37-47.
National Bureau of Statistics. (2022). 2022 population and housing census. census.gov.ng/index.php/product/2022-population-and-housing-census.
Nkemdirim, L. C. (2018). The Fulani herdsmen/farmers conflict and its implications for peace and security in Nigeria: A case study of Jos, Plateau state. Nigerian Journal of Law and Society, 18(1), 1-13.
Nwobi, G. T. (2020). Re-inventing traditional ways of conflict management in Nigeria. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 4(4), 63-72.
