The grasslands of Nigeria can barely support 40% of Nigerian livestock. Loss of pasture and water resources have forced pastoralist cattle herders – predominantly from the north – southwards to graze their 30 million heads of cattle. This migration has intensified competition with crop farmers for dwindling land and water resources.
The dynamics of these tensions have grown in complexity, with ethnicity and religion defining and shaping the patterns and trends of the conflicts in relation to access to and control of land. Governmental policy gaps and the resistance to change continue to polarize land-related issues.
The public policy forum addressed and explored effective solutions to the compounding effects of climate change on food security and land conflict in Nigeria.