Highlight: Beyond Scarcity: Understanding the Drivers of Farmer-Herder Conflicts
Publisher: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and adelphi
Date: 2026
Topics: Conflict Causes, Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Nigeria
Conflicts between farmers and herders, more precisely between pastoral, agro-pastoral and agricultural communities, arise when land uses and livelihoods compete for the same resources. These conflicts are most common in settings shaped by environmental variability, demographic change, changing land-use patterns, and weak or contested governance. Although often portrayed as inevitable clashes between two distinct groups, farming and herding practices frequently overlap within the same communities.