HERDERS-FARMERS CONFLICT AND SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA, 2006 – 2016

TABLE OF CONTENT

Table of Contents                                                                                        i

List of Table                                                                                                  ii

Abbreviations                                                                                              iii

Abstract                                                                                                    iv

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study                                                               1

1. Statement of the Problem                                                             6

1. Objectives of the Study                                                                           9

1. Significance of the Study                                                                  9

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. The Herders/Farmers Relationship and Food Production in Nigeria                               11

2.2. The Incessant Herders/Farmers Conflict and Sustainable National Development in Nigeria                                                                             23

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1. Theoretical Framework                                                                              31

3.2. Hypotheses                                                                                       35

3.3. Research Design                                                                                        35

3.4. Methods of Data Collection                                                                     37

3.5. Methods of Data Analysis                                                             38

3.6. Logical Data Framework                                                                        40

CHAPTER FOUR: THE CONFLICTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HERDERS, CROP FARMERS AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

4.1. The Destruction of Crops by Cattle in the Course of Pasturing and Low Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria.          47

4.2. The Impact of the Herders/Farmers Conflict on the Cost of Food in Nigeria.   63

CHAPTER FIVE: HERDERS/FARMERS CONFLICT AND SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

5.1. The Implication of the Herders-Farmers Clashes on Agricultural Revenue in Nigeria.                                                                                        76

5.2. Herdsmen-Farmers Conflict and Loss of Human Capital in Nigeria.                             89

5.2.1. Implications of the Conflict on the Nigerian Federation.                                           99

CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1. Summary                                                                                                 102

6.2. Conclusion                                                                                         106

6.3. Recommendations                                                                                     107

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Logical Data Framework                                                     40

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CBN: Central Bank of Nigeria

FAO: Food and Agricultural Organisation

GDP: Gross Domestic Product

NBS: National Bureau of Statistics

SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

UN: United Nations

UNDP: United Nations Development Programme

                                                                   ABSTRACT

Nigeria is a nation with enormous agricultural potentials. However, the incessant Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers conflict among others results to low agricultural productivity, food scarcity, and low derivation of revenue from agriculture as well as loss of lives and properties. This study therefore examined the impact of the herders/farmers conflict in Nigeria and its attendant effects on the country’s quest to achieve sustainable national development. Against this backdrop, the study explored the relationship between herdsmen and crop farmers in different agrarian communities in Nigeria, the attacks and counter-attacks between the two farming groups and its impact on the economic and political development of the country. Utilizing the eco-violence theory as well as adopting the time series research design, the study hinged on secondary data generated and analyzed by documentary method and content analysis respectively. The study discovered that the herders/farmers conflict in Nigeria has in no small measure contributed to the poor performance of the agricultural sector in Nigeria unlike during the colonial and early post-colonial periods when agriculture was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. The study, however, maintained that serious efforts must be made to establish a cordial relationship between herders and crop farmers as well as the adoption of modern cattle rearing mechanism which will reduce the rate of nomadic rearing of cattle in Nigeria.

Keywords: Fulani herders, farmers, conflict, sustainable national development, Nigerian state.