Accelerating pastoralist/farmer conflict across Central Nigeria (and West Africa) potentially compromises all IITA\'s goals

Among IITA’s expressed goals are consolidating gains in cassava production in West-Central Africa, expand maize/legume systems, and promote cereal, cowpea and livestock integration in the dry savannas of West Africa. Nigeria faces particular challenges, as its high dependency on imported foodstuffs as a consequence of the era of high oil prices cannot now continue. However, an expansion of smallholder production to feed an urban sector inflated by food imports is increasingly under threat from civil instability in rural areas. The talk reports on a 2016 field study undertaken in five states on pastoralist/farmer conflict combined with a synthesis of fresh material from five other states. The results suggest that; There has been a major expansion of pastoral incursions on farmland, due to accelerated migration from the semi-arid zone This is accompanied by an upsurge in violent episodes, exacerbated by access to modern weapons This includes episodes of malicious revenge, such as crop-burning and cattle-poisoning Consequences reported by smallholder farmers include failure to invest in improved production, inability to take advantage of the best land due to its isolation and unwillingness of youth to enter agriculture because it is perceived as threatening In the dry savannas, the classic relationship between herders and farmers, the exchange of manure for cereal stover, has collapsed in many areas, while milk production is at very low levels Animal traction is also in decline because draught animals are potential targets for theft by dispossessed herdersImprovement in agricultural production in smallholder systems depends on a certain level of stability in rural areas, a condition which is currently not being met. The talk will discuss how the present situation has arisen and possible solutions.