EFFECT OF FULANI HERDSMEN AND FARMERS CRISIS ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Fula people also known as Fulani in Hausa language, are a mass population widely dispersed and culturally diverse in all of Africa, but most predominant in West Africa. The Fulani’s generally speak the Fula language. A significant number of them are nomadic in nature, herding cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry grass lands of
their environment, keeping isolate from the local farming communities, making them the world’s largest pastoral
nomadic group (Eyekpimi, 2016). They are massively spread over many countries, and are found mainly in West
Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, but also in Sudan and Egypt. The main Fulani sub-groups in Nigeria are:
Fulbe Adamawa, Fulbe Mbororo, Fulbe Sokoto, Fulbe Gombe, and the Fulbe Borgu (Eyekpimi, 2016).
Nigeria as a nation state is under a severe internal socio-economic and security threat. At a more general level, the
threat has special economic, political and environmental dimensions. Each of these dimensions has greatly affected
the nation’s stability and can be traced to the Fulani-herdsmen and farmers clash, ethnic militant armies, ethnic and
religious conflicts, poverty, insurgency, armed robbery, corruption, economic sabotage and environmental degradation
(Damba, 2007). Food security is a condition related to the supply of food, and individuals’ access to it. Concerns over food security
have existed throughout history. There is evidence of Granaries being in use over 10,000 years ago, with central
authorities in civilizations including ancient China and ancient Egypt being known to release food from storage in
times of famine (Illufoye, 2009). At the 1974 World Food Conference the term “food security” was defined with an
emphasis on supply. Food security, they said, is the “availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic
foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices”
(United Nations, 2013). Later definitions added demand and access issues to the definition. The final report of the
1996 World Food Summit states that food security “exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic
access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and
healthy life” (United Nations, 2015).
Household food security exists when all members, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life
(USDA, 2008). Individuals who are food secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation (FAO, 2006). Food
insecurity, on the other hand, is a situation of “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods
or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways”, according to the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2008). Food security incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or
unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages,
economic instability and wars (Boeing, 2016). In the years 2011-2017 (FAO, 2017), an estimated 842 million people
were suffering from chronic hunger (FAO, 2017). The Food and Agriculture Organiation of the United Nations, or FAO,
identified the four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization, and stability (FAO, 2009). The United
Nations (UN) recognized the Right to Food in the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, (United Nations, 2015) and
has since noted that it is vital for the enjoyment of all other rights (United Nations, 2015). Violent conflict and crisis in Nigeria, like other parts of the world, have created a rift in human relations, caused
serious threat to food security, among many other effects (Basil, 2015). Crisis is inevitable as long as we live together,
especially in a multi-ethnic, cultural and religious community like Nigeria. However violence leaves us with various
forms of retardation and underdevelopment resulting from the destruction of lives, farmland and property. The
menaces of violent crisis conflict have been on the increase in some most Nigerian cities in the last two decades
(Ilufoye, 2009). Most of these conflicts are generally regarded as ethno-religious bigotry and antagonism.
According to Kassam (2014) and Basil (2015), the conflicts in most part of Nigeria especially the Fulani herdsmen
and farmers clash are largely uncalled for. Farmers can no longer farm peacefully because of Fulani herdsmen.
These Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash have pitched Christians and Muslims against each other. The conflict has
had devastating effects on inter-group relationships especially in Nasarawa Egor in Nasarawa State and Agatu L.G.A
of Benue State. Apart from the loss of lives, farmlands, food produce and property, it has profound influence on
residential relationships, leading to new trends in the polarization of communities. This is evident in a physical
manifestation of mono religious areas in Nasarawa and Benue States, with Christians and Muslims living in dominant
religious clusters (Eyekpemi, 2016) Recent studies conducted by Basil (2015) and Ekpeyemi (2016) have shown that, serious conflict erupt between
Fulani herdsmen and farmers leading to loss of lives, valuable properties and destruction of vast expanse of arable
agricultural farmlands thereby posing serious threat to food security since farmers for fear of attack could no longer
go to farm and harvest their farm produce. The recent attacks by Fulani herdsmen is on the increase, with the most
recent attacks in June 2016 occurring in Ossissa community in Ndokwa East and Abraka community in Ethiope East
Local Government Areas of Delta State and three more communities (Ugondo, Turan, Gabo Nenzev) in Logo Local
Government Area, Benue State, total killings involving no fewer than 60 persons (Ekpeyemi, 2016). The Federal
Government recently ordered an inquiry, military crackdown on the group and affirmed its plans to establish cattle
ranches as a solution to the frequent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria (Basil, 2015). In
recent times, the killings recorded by Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash has rampaged most communities displacing
them of their farmlands and loss of their major source of livelihood. This is becoming unbearable with the Fulani
herdsmen always having their ways leaving the farmers at their mercy. Farmers now go to farm armed with weapons
for defense in case of attack (Ekpeyemi, 2016).
Recently, several deaths and casualties have been recorded in series of clash between Fulnai herdsmen and
farmers. Most people attribute the clash between Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers to religious differences between the
Muslims or Islam’s and the Christians(Basil, 2015). Several farmlands have been destroyed due to conflict erupting
between farmers and herdsmen. Herdsmen attribute the roots of the crisis to religious differences resulting in the
killing of their cows while the farmers see the herdsmen as a threat to their crops and agricultural produce since the
herdsmen allow their cows to feed on the farmer crops. Evidences have shown that herdsmen and farmers clash in
several parts of Nigeria especially in the Nassarawa, Delta, Edo, and Benue states could be due to differences in
religious background between the herdsmen and farmers. Several lives and farmlands been destroyed in this crisis
(Ekpeyemi, 2016). Recently, in Abraka Fulani herdsmen attacked farmers at the farm and claimed one life which
prompted the indigenes of Abraka to riot. It was due to this saga that the Ovie of Abraka Kingdom (HRM Akpomedaye
Majoroh II) declared state of emergency on the 23rd of April, 2017 on the Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash in a bid
to restore peace to the community. It is against this background that this study is conducted to investigate the effects of Fulani herdsmen-farmers crisis on food security in Abraka region.
EFFECT OF FULANI HERDSMEN AND FARMERS CRISIS ON FOOD SECURITY