Pollution, abandoned farmlands: How herdsmen-farmers clash is impoverishing Benue farmers
The killing of over 40 people by suspected herdsmen between Monday, April 3, and Friday, April 7, 2023, in Umogidi and Igbobi communities, Otukpo and Apa LGA of Benue State, just before dawn, brought back the gory memories of the ugly days of Farmers-Herders clash that many thought have been left in the past.
In the separate attacks that left children, women, and old people injured and many dead, residents say the assailants invaded Umogidi village in Otukpo Local Government Area in the early hours of April 5, 2023. Gory pictures of women, children, and the elderly with various degrees of machete wounds circulated on social media, sparking outrage.
With a population of about 4.6 million (2006 National Census), Benue State, bordering Taraba, Nasarawa, and Kogi, is widely regarded as the food basket of the nation, having a landmass of about 34,000 square kilometers, an area ten times the size of Lagos. Before the herdsmen-farmers clashes began in early 2015, Benue thrived on agriculture with over 70% of resident farmers. The arable land makes it suitable for growing some of Nigeria’s notable foods like yam, rice, beans, cassava, sweet potato, soybean, and cocoyam. But the attacks, which have increased significantly since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, have stalled farming activities in the state, leaving thousands in Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDP), high food inflation, and an increased crime rate in the state. A report by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says 25 million Nigerians are at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023 due to insecurity and the 2022 flooding that damaged more than 676,000 hectares of farmlands.
From Grazing Reserve to FG’s Ruga attempt to solve Herdsmen-farmers crisis
In 1965, Northern Nigeria enacted the Grazing Reserve, which provided grazing routes within the Northern part of the country. With a total of 141 gazetted grazing reserves in Nigeria, the system was designed to ensure that the nomadic Fulani herdsmen had access to grazing lands for their cattle. However, over time, the grazing route system began to face challenges due to a variety of factors. Aside from the Land Use Act of 1978, which vested all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation in the Governor of that State, the rapid growth of Nigeria’s population increased the demand for agricultural and urban development.
Herdsmen-farmers clash intensified over time as Fulani herders sought green pastures for their cattle. Benue State, a north-central state, has been the epicenter of the herdsmen’s attack, which has resulted in the loss of over 7,000 lives and the abandonment of farmlands.
Godwin Ochube, a Strategic Relations Officer at the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch who hails from Ogbadibo LGA but lives in Otukpo LGA of Benue State, told Neusroom that attacks on farmers by herdsmen ascended a new height in 2015.
“Benue State is dominated by Idoma, Tiv, and Igede. For years, we have lived with the Fulani people in peace up until 2015 when the attacks started,” Ochube said.
The once peaceful state, which prides itself on the task of ‘feeding the country’, has become the epicenter of mindless attacks that left vast farmland deserted.
Ochube, whose community was not affected by the recent attack in the state, said scores of people migrated from Umogidi to Otukpo LGA headquarters for safety.
Crowded IDP Camps and Abandoned Farmlands
Nigeria is witnessing what many describe as a food crisis. From food inflation to unemployment, 82 million Nigerians live on less than $1.9 per day. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the food inflation rate in December 2022 was 23.75% on a year-on-year basis. 1kg of rice, which is one of the major foods in Nigeria, rose by 19.30% from N436.58 in February 2022 to N520.84 in February 2023. For every ₦100, the average Nigerian spends ₦56.7 on food alone. While Benue State is one of the major producers of rice in the country, the state is not spared by the food inflation as data from NBS shows a price increase of 22.8% on food on a year-on-year basis.
“Who wants to go to the farm?” Ochube asked rhetorically.
Yoosu Soonen, President of the National Union of Benue State Students (NUBESS), who hails from Piza in Ukum LGA, told Neusroom that most of those in various IDP camps are farmers who had lost their only means of livelihood to the herdsmen crisis.
Soonen, who is a 400-level History student at Benue State University, said a student whom he identified as Moses Okpe sustained various degrees of wounds during the attack.
As survivors make plans to bury their deceased, fear hovers around the attacked communities and residents are reluctant to begin farming activities despite the return of the rainy season. The crisis is impoverishing residents in the state.
“People are scared to go to the farm. I can tell you that commercial farming in the state has reduced drastically,” Soonen said.
Soonen said that his uncle, Barrister Emmanuel Udende, who cultivated 58 hectares of rice, was forced to abandon the investment when the herders attacked his village last year.
“In 2022, I visited one of my uncles, Barrister Emmanuel Udende, whose 58 hectares of land were destroyed when the herders attacked Mchia and Ayilamo communities in Logo Local Government.”
Logo is one of the severely hit LGAs that have witnessed repeated attacks in recent years. In December 2022, 14 people were killed in one such assault.
“I can tell you that most people did not farm last year due to several attacks. I am not surprised that food inflation increased across the country because here in the state, people are finding it hard to farm what they would eat not to talk of the ones they’ll sell,” Soonen said.
Ochube said that there had been a significant reduction in commercial farming in Benue State.“In Umuogidi, where the recent attack happened, their major source of income is from garri production which they supply to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and other parts of the country.”
“Before the attacks, you would see a lot of trailers coming from the village to other parts of the country. With this crisis, the village is mostly empty. The people that want to go to the farm are in IGP camps. Primary schools are being converted into IGP camps. It is the food basket of the nation, but there is not enough food,” Ochube said.
The price of garri increased by 7.79% from N302 in November 2021 to N325.82 in November 2022.
How Herders’ Cattle Are Affecting the Arable Land and Contaminating the Source of Water
When cattle are allowed to pass through farmland, apart from eating and trampling on the crops, their hooves compact the soil, which reduces its ability to absorb water and oxygen, thereby making the once-rich arable land infertile.
Streams, rivers, and which are the major source of water in the state are equally being polluted by cattle dung. Residents are at risk of contracting cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery as a result of using contaminated water.
Faced with spontaneous water scarcity, a research on Water Shortage And Health Problems in Benue State shows that about 95% of the settlements have no water supply facilities to complement natural water supply sources like streams and rainwater. Residents rely on natural resources of water, while some dug up pits to get drinking water. In 2021, Makurdi was hit with acute water scarcity. Also, in 2013, the scarcity of water in Benue State reportedly led to the outbreak of a cholera epidemic leading to the death of at least eight people.
Soonen said that Umuogidi village depends on streams for their source of water.
“But the herders do not care about the living conditions of people in those villages,” Soonen said. “Their cattle defecate in our rivers and trample on our soil. They value their cattle and are ready to kill to get to the places where there are green pastures.”
Government action to mitigate the herdsmen-farmers crisis
With less than two months left in office, President Buhari has directed security operatives to find and deal with the attackers. While the president campaigned heavily on insecurity in 2015, many Nigerians believe that the nation is not safe. During his eight years in power, the country witnessed an increase in the number of herdsmen-farmers clashes, cases of school abductions, and separatist agitations.
However, Soonen, who said he was arrested in 2022 for criticising the state government, blamed Governor Samuel Ortom for not doing enough to secure the lives of people in the state.
“In December 2022 when I was still President-elect of NUBESS, I was arrested for speaking against the incessant attacks and asking the Benue State government to back their words with actions.
“After every attack, the government comes out to condemn. But what is being done to prevent these attacks? What is being done for those who are living in the IDP camps in deplorable conditions? ‘We condemn, we condemn’, without actions, is what we have seen in the past eight years.”
Soonen believes that Livestock Guards, which have now been disbanded for two weeks after the recent attacks, did not improve the situation.
While the South West established the Amotekun security outfit to fight insecurity in the region, its variant Ebubeagu was equally instituted in the Southeast. Governor Ortom, in 2022, disbanded vigilante groups.
With the vigilante groups gone, the local governments are vulnerable to attacks.
Ochube said: “The local government is handicapped and there is nothing it can really do about the attacks. They do not have the necessary requirements to defend themselves and cannot provide ammunition for their citizens.”
