Management of Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Rural Communities of Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the management of conflicts between rural farmers and herders in Nigeria. Data were collected through a survey of 300 farmers selected using multistage sampling procedure. Data analysis included the use of mean, percentage, and logit regression. Results show that effects of farmers-herders conflict on the household include food scarcity ( = 3.83), loss of income and poverty (=3.75), loss of means of livelihood, and inflated price of foodstuff. Management strategies to curb farmers-herders conflict include occupational diversification (=2.7), involvement of traditional rulers (=1.6), early planting and harvesting and use of fertilizer. Constraints to use of management strategies include language barrier (= 2.91), and itinerant nature of herders. There was no significant relationship between socioeconomic characteristics (example age, p=0.018)) of respondents and the effects of conflict on farmers. Many factors hindered the management of farmers-herders conflicts. Hence, farmers should be encouraged by the government and donor agencies to participate in various forms of occupational diversification and provided with incentives such as access to training, and loans. Extension services should be available in various languages to educate the farmers and herders on the benefits of cooperation between the two parties and the effects of open grazing.