By Abbas Nazil
Nigeria’s longstanding farmer-herder conflict is worsening as 417 grazing reserves across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory lie largely underutilised, leaving millions of cattle without access to pasture.
Experts argue that the core of the crisis is the lack of enabling environments for pastoralists, despite promises by successive governments to address the issue.
According to the 2022 National Agricultural Sample Census, Nigeria has 20.9 million cattle, 88.2 million goats, and 49.1 million sheep, a resource base with huge potential for job creation, reduced importation, and foreign investment.
Since 1942, areas were designated as grazing reserves, and by 1965, laws were enacted in the northern region to back them legally.
Today, the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development records show that while Nigeria has 417 reserves spanning over 4 million hectares, only 142 have been gazetted, leaving 275 vulnerable to encroachment by individuals, farms, and communities.
Blocked cattle routes have further worsened the situation, cutting off corridors designed to connect reserves across states.
Leaders of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria say encroachment, poor maintenance of dams and clinics, climate change, and overgrazing have left most reserves bare, with inedible shrubs replacing nutritious grasses.
They stress that rehabilitation of reserves, provision of water, and training of pastoralists are key steps to resolving the crisis.
Experts add that climate change, population growth, and anti-grazing laws in some states have worsened access to traditional grazing routes, fueling conflict and insecurity.
The federal government, through the Ministry of Livestock Development, has now signed an agreement with the Rural Electrification Agency to provide solar-powered grids in selected reserves, aiming to modernise pastoral livelihoods.
Officials say the initiative will improve irrigation, education, health care, security, and create jobs, with hopes that a systemic revival of reserves could transform the livestock sector into a driver of food security and economic growth.
However, stakeholders stress that without political will, security coordination, and sustainable investment, Nigeria’s vast grazing resources will remain wasted, leaving herders and farmers locked in conflict.
