E. Ogezi, ES Salau, E.G. Luka
Farmer–herder conflict in Nigeria is frequently attributed to climate change, population pressure, or ethnic antagonism. While these factors may exacerbate tensions, they obscure the deeper historical and political-economic transformations that converted previously complementary farmer–pastoralist relations into violent conflict. Drawing on original household survey data from conflict-affected and non-conflict affected communities in Benue and Nasarawa States, this paper examines how institutional breakdown mediates the relationship between land competition and violence. Using descriptive and comparative empirical analysis, the paper demonstrates that conflict incidence, agricultural output losses, livelihood disruptions, and food insecurity are significantly higher in communities where land governance institutions have eroded. The findings suggest that farmer–herder violence is less a product of environmental scarcity than of the collapse of historically adaptive land-use institutions. The paper concludes by arguing for land governance reform and institutional rebuilding as central to conflict mitigation in Nigeria’s agrarian zones. It recommended that a more sustainable resource use plan should be carefully curated to feature concerns of farmers, herders and future generations such that conflicts can be averted and the ecosystem can be sustained given the rapid devolution of the conflict.