Farmer-Herder Conflict and the Raising Trends of Food Insecurity in Nigeria: The Case of Benue State Nigeria

Nigeria as a country was a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially its goal two, where it is envisaged that by 2030, member states of the United Nations including Nigeria must have ended hunger, achieved food security, improved nutrition, and promoted sustainable agriculture. In line with this, the Federal Government of Nigeria put some efforts in place to boost agricultural productivity to have food security in Nigeria. Benue State which prides itself as the food basket of the nation is not exempted from the ugly trend of food scarcity. This is a result of the displacement of the farming population and communities due to clashes between nomadic herdsmen and rural farmers in the state. Renewed clashes over land between ethnic Tivs and nomadic Fulanis in Edo and Benue states also led to the displacement of an estimated 15,000people since March 2012. The herdsmen and farmers' violent conflicts occurred in 14 out of 23 Local Government Areas of Benue State, known for a large quantity of production of food. The paper evaluates the nature and effect of the conflict and the impact it has on food productivity and security which includes low productivity of food that has led to the acute hunger in Benue State and Nigeria as a whole. Consequently, the work recommends among others that the ranching system, and grazing routes and reserves for herders and pastoralists should be established, with enlightenment to all stakeholders concerned.