Impact of Farmers-Herders Conflicts on the Socio-Economic Development in Benue State, Nigeria
Abstract
Abstract Nigeria in the last decade has witnessed increased conflicts between farmers and herders in different parts of the country especially in the Middle-Belt states of Benue, Plateau, and Nassarawa. The fighting, killings and destruction of public and private properties which have always characterized these crises has attracted considerable local and international attention which has led to the incessant calls by several concerned groups, individuals and organizations for the establishment of ranches especially in the affected states. Benue State thus became the first state in Nigeria to tow the line of this call by establishing the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017. In the light of the above, this study examines the socio-economic impact of farmers-herders’conflicts in Benue state. The theoretical framework is anchored on the social conflict theory and thematic analysis was used to arrive at the conclusion of the paper. The findings indicated a number of factors responsible for the conflicts between farmers and herders in Benue State among which are; climate variability, inadequate cattle route, destruction of crop farms, population pressure, extension of cultivated areas, cattle rustling, conflict entrepreneurs, among others. Findings also show that the anti-open grazing law of Benue state did not yield the desired results. The work concludes that; Benue state government must muster the political will to enforce the laws made in relation to the farmers-herders’ conflicts so as to attain the desired peace in the state. Key Words: Conflict, Farmer-herder, Grazing, Natural Resources, and Socio-Economic Development..