Farmer-Herders’ Conflict and Climate Change: Response Strategies Needed in Nigeria and Other African Countries

Abstract

AbstractNigeria and some other West African countries have experienced deadly conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists. The loss of grazing lands due to desertification as consequent to the changing climate propelled the migration of herders to regions where crop growing is more favorable. Open and uncontrolled grazing by the herders led to a destruction of crops, and subsequently, this has led to conflicts between the herders and farmers. This article employs the realistic group conflict theory and the theory of structural violence to analyze the cause and drivers of this conflict. Materials were sourced from the International Crisis Group’s reports, interviews, and publications, along with the Project Drawdown’s summary of solutions to climate change. In addition, these were complemented with existing literature on resource competition owing to the climate change impact. This study concludes that the conflict is a result of the impacts of climate change, and responses to this devastating impact, as identified by Drawdown’s summary of solutions to climate change, are managed grazing and regenerative agriculture. This finding is in line with Nigeria’s policy on climate change, which is aimed at integrating livestock with farming activities, and it is hoped that this work will be instrumental in stopping the farmer-herder conflicts and enhance the resilience of both groups in adapting and mitigating climate change.