LAND USE CONFLICT BETWEEN FARMERS AND HERDSMEN – IMPLICATION FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the demand for livestock products, particularly milk and meat, is anticipated to increase between 3.2 and 3.9 percent year between 1997 and 2020 as a result of population expansion, income growth, and urbanization, according to Rose grant et al. (2001). They were evicted from Northern Nigeria due to the worsening environmental conditions, land degradation, and ongoing drought in the Sudan/Sahel savanna between 1960 and 1970. This explained why pastoralists left their home base and moved as far as the Guinean savanna and the edges of the forests in southern Nigeria. 2007 (Fabusoro).The movement of nomadic pastoralists is said to be governed by variations in rainfall, grazing animals, pasture, and water, according to Adisa and Adekunle (2010) and Baba (personal communication). Gbaka (2014) reaffirms that while constantly moving toward pasture, water sources, salt licks, and livestock markets, the nature of the terrain that permits unhindered movement and protective mechanisms for their livestock against the whims of nature, they occasionally avoid the tsetse flies, severe weather, tribal enemies, livestock bandits, tax assessors, and hostile social environments. Additionally, such migration acts as a drought coping technique, Land disputes can cause conflict between farmers and herders. The effect of this is noticed on household wellbeing, loss of material resources, agricultural produce, and lower revenue. This is related to lack of grazing resources and climate change. Data was gathered via a structured interview schedule, focus group talks, visual representation, and personal observations. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were then utilized to analyze the data. This presentation explores the various conflicts and makes recommendations for how to resolve them, including increasing awareness of land management, enforcing different regulations among farmers and herdsmen, providing grazing land, offering extension services to teach farmers and herdsmen about conflict coping .