Socio-Economic Impacts of Conflicts between Farmers and Cattle Herdsmen in Rural Households of Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract:

The survey was conducted to determine socio-economic impacts of conflicts between farmers and cattle herdsmen in rural households of Benue State, Nigeria. Questionnaire/interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of 118 respondents used for the study. Frequency, percentage and factor analysis were used for analyzing data collected for the study. Findings of this study indicate that major effects of conflict between farmers and cattle herdsmen on agricultural production were named socio-economic, loss of lives and property-related and shortage of food-related factors. Furthermore, the respondents revealed that the coping strategies used in avoiding conflict between farmers and cattle herdsmen were avoiding crops destruction by cattle (88.1%), strict supervision of grazing by adult herdsmen (78.8%), establishment of ranches (78.0%) and avoiding cattle rustling (78.0%). It is recommended that government at all levels (federal, state and local) should liaise with community leaders to ensure adequate security of lives and property in rural communities in order to sustain the livelihoods of the rural dwellers.