FARMERS-HERDSMEN CONFLICT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON FOOD SECURITY IN BENUE STATE, 1999–2024

Abstract

This study examines the farmers-herdsmen conflict in Benue State between 1999 and 2024 and its implications for food security. Benue is widely regarded as the “Food Basket of the Nation” because of its extensive production of yams, rice, cassava, sorghum, millet, sesame, fruits and other food crops. For many years, pastoralists moved seasonally into the Benue Valley in search of pasture and water and maintained generally workable relationships with farming communities. From the late 2000s and especially from about 2011/2012, however, disagreements over land use, crop destruction, grazing routes, cattle rustling and access to water increasingly assumed violent dimensions. The resulting attacks, killings, displacement and destruction of farms have weakened agricultural production, disrupted rural markets and reduced the movement of food from producing communities to consumers. Using qualitative historical methodology, the study draws on published literature, government materials, field notes and oral interviews conducted in selected communities and markets in Ukum, Gwer West and Agatu Local Government Areas. The analysis is anchored on Eco-violence Theory, which explains how competition over shrinking ecological resources can generate violent conflict. Evidence from the study shows that insecurity has reduced farmers’ access to ancestral land and disrupted the production and marketing of yams, rice and fish, among others. The paper argues that the food-security consequences extend beyond immediate shortages to loss of income, displacement, livelihood disruption and weakening of local food-supply chains. It recommends improved intelligence gathering and preventive security, consistent enforcement of law, strengthened local conflict-resolution mechanisms, land-governance reforms, and a transition toward modern livestock management, including ranching where appropriate.