Nigeria

Hostility between pastoralists (herders) and farmers has continued for decades in Nigeria’s Middle Belt states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Taraba. The disputes have arisen from tensions over land. Drought and desertification have forced pastoralists in northern and central Nigeria to move further south to access grazing land and water sources for their cattle. Meanwhile, rapid population growth has increased demand for land and led farmers to settle on tracts of land that pastoralists seasonally use as grazing routes. The conflict is primarily about access to resources, though it is often seen in the context of religious and ethnic differences.? There have been reports of activities such as village raids, cattle rustling, and attacks on farmers overlapping with violence from criminal gangs.? Households affected and displaced by this violence are highly likely to face food insecurity.?