CAUSES AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OF FARMERS-HERDERS CONFLICT IN OORELOPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the causes and management strategies of farmers – herdsmen conflicts in Oorelope Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was employed to select 132 respondents for the study comprising both farmers and herdsmen. Interview schedule was used to elicit information for the study. The responses were analyzed using frequency counts and mean score. The result showed that about 47% and 43.90% of the farmers and herdsmen were respectively in the age range of 31 – 40 years with low level of education. The major perception of the farmers/herdsmen on the causes of conflicts were destruction of crops (mean = 4.95/4.98), theft of cattle (mean = 4.76/3.94), contamination of streams by cattle (mean = 4.23/4.95) and overgrazing of farmland (mean = 4.50/4.71). Farmers/herdsmen indicated the major methods of resolving conflicts to include traditional councils (90.90%/100%), courts (83.30%/100%), peaceful settlement (93.90%/100%), deliberate escape (80.30%/100%) and community based organization (CBO's) (87.90%/98.50%). The result also showed that reduction in output and income, displacement of farmers/herdsmen, reduction in food quality and quantity, loss of produce and storage were the major consequences of conflicts in the study area. The Z – test result showed significant difference between the perception of farmers and herdsmen (Z = 1.92 < 0.10) on the causes of conflicts in the study area.