IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 12, Issue 1 Ser. III (January 2019), PP 23-31 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-1201032331 www.iosrjournals.org 23 | Page Land Use Conflict between Farmers and Herdsmen in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria Ogebe, F.O, Daniel Abah and Ligom, L.S. Department of Agricultural Economics, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Ogebe, F.O, Daniel Abah Abstract: The study was conducted in Gwer-West Local Government Area of Benue State to investigate the causes of farmers- herdsmen and use conflict that is common in many parts of Nigeria. Such conflict has caused a lot of losses to Nigeria, the state, and local communities. Using simple random and purposive sampling techniques, 80 farmers and 20 herdsmen were selected from communities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed that the major causes of farmers-herders conflict in the study area include destruction of crops by cattle, contamination of streams by cattledungs, female sexual harassment by herdsmen, harassment of herdsmen by youths of host communities, cattle rustling by host communities, and indiscriminate bush burning by herdsmen Most respondents suffered various effects as a result of their mutual conflict. The effects on both sides ranged from physical, economic, to socio-psychological. Loss of material resources were more widespread among farmers and this include loss of crop yield and income of farmer, displacement of farmers, loss of lives and property and loss of products in storage. On the part of herdsmen, losses whether material or not-were minimal. .The study revealed that three types of coping strategies were mostly adopted by the two groups. These are problem orientated coping strategy (POCS), emotion orientated coping strategy (EOCS), and social support seeking coping strategy (SSSCS).It was found that the average use score of problem-orientated coping strategies (POCS) and social support-seeking coping strategies (SSSCS) were higher for farmers compared to herdsmen implying that on average, farmers use more of these strategies since they encountered more conflict-related problems than herdsmen. On the other hand, the average use score in respect of emotion-orientated coping strategies (EOCS) was higher (70.1%) for herdsmen than farmers (29.9%)implying that herdsmen basically used emotion-orientated strategies which is an indication of a strong emotional attachment to the cattle among the Fulani tribe in Nigeria. The result of the probit regression model revealed that several factors were responsible for the use of coping strategies among the two groups. Age, income, and farm size significantly influenced the use of most of the coping strategies among the respondents. The study recommends that coping strategies should be incorporated into the mainstream activities of farmer-herdsmen conflict management. Keywords: Conflict, Herdsmen, Farmers, Coping strategies, Probit model, Nigeria --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 16-01-2019 Date of acceptance: 31-01-2019 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Sustainable production of agricultural products requires the prevalence of peaceful co-habitation among farmers and other settlers in their community. The disruption of agricultural productivity as a result of conflict between farmers and herdsmen hampers development, reduces agricultural productivity which may lead to poverty. Competition-driven conflicts between arable crop farmers and cattle herdsmen have become common occurrences in many parts of Nigeria. [1] found that conflicts over agricultural land use between farmers and herdsmen accounted for 35percent of all reported crises in Nigeria. Politico-religious and ethnic clashes occurred at lower frequencies. A conflict study of 27communities in North-Central Nigeria showed that over 40%of the households surveyed had experienced agricultural land related conflicts, with respondents recalling conflicts that were as far back as 1965. The Fulani cattle herdsmen have identified conflicts arising from land use as the “most important” problem they face in their occupation [2]. The pastoral Fulani move about with their cattle throughout of the year for pastures because of desert encroachment (desertification) of the Sahel region caused by climate change. This causes menace posed by herdsmen in the different communities they migrate to for purposes of grazing their cattle. They are more and more constituting major security challenges to their host communities. The frequency of farmer-herdsmen conflict is increasing by the day and this posts security challenge in some communities and States in Nigeria. The scenario is most succinctly portrayed by [3] who reported that recently “there have been escalations of reported attacks by Fulani herdsmen who brutally kill natives of the invaded farming communities including women and children in various States across the country. Worst affected States