Farmer–Herder Conflict and Agricultural Development in Benue State, Nigeria: Implications for National Security

Abstract

This study assessed the impact of farmer–herder conflict on agricultural development and national security in Benue State, Nigeria. Two research objectives, two research questions, and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design.

The population frame comprised 2,777,727 registered voters in Benue State as reported in the 2023 electoral register, from which a sample of 384 respondents was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan sample-size table. We retrieved 341 valid questionnaires, representing an 88.8% response rate. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled the “Farmer–Herder Conflict and National Security Questionnaire (FHCNSQ).” Content validity was established through expert review, while internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. We used descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and multiple linear regression to analyse the data at the 0.05 significance level. The findings showed that farmer–herder conflict substantially disrupts agricultural development through crop destruction, farmland abandonment, reduced crop yields, labour shortages, reduced investment, and damage to agricultural equipment. The findings also showed significant national-security implications, particularly through weapon proliferation, displacement, pressure on social services, weakened public trust, and heightened social tensions. The regression model explained 71.4% of the variance in reported national-security threats. The study concludes that conflict prevention, effective land governance, community-based security mechanisms, and agricultural recovery measures are necessary to protect livelihoods and strengthen security in Benue State.