IMPACT OF PASTORIAL NOMADISM ON FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA ( A CASE STUDY OF FARMERS-HERDERS CONFLICT IN SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA)

CHAPTER  ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

          One of the Millennium Development Goals is food security, which is commonly seen as a crucial indicator of a nation's progress towards overall well-being (Vasco, 2007). Despite the concern expressed by governments worldwide to guarantee that every home can provide a minimum of three square meals for their family, food insecurity remains a significant global development issue that threatens people's health, productivity, and frequently their very existence (Smith and Subandoro, 2007). There is an extreme case of hunger worldwide, with around thirty percent of the world's population suffering from one or more kinds of malnutrition, such as insufficient calorie intake, insufficient protein, poor nutritional quality, and insufficient amounts of micronutrients and protein (Basudeb, Acharya, and Davis, 2007).

Approximately 840 million people worldwide suffer from chronic food insecurity or undernourishment, and 300,000 mothers and 2.8 million children die prematurely each year in poor nations as a result of malnutrition(Basudeb et al, 2007). South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are two regions where the situation is quite concerning. Hunger persists because of factors other than sustainable economic growth, yet hunger also acts as a brake on economic expansion.

According to these research, there is a clear correlation between hunger and poverty, and maintaining a healthy diet increases production and the returns on expenditures made in health and education. When considered collectively, these data offer compelling proof that public expenditure on hunger alleviation is a highly profitable venture and ought to be developing nations' top priority.

Mauro, Davis, Calogero, and Kathleen (2007) reference Maxwell (1996) as saying that the idea of food security has changed throughout time, evolving both ahead of and in tandem with comparable changes in poverty. Food security concepts have changed from the national and international level to the home and individual level since the 1974 World Food Conference (WFC).The more conventional method of characterising food insecurity as the insufficiency of the aggregate supply of and accessibility to food is not followed when measuring food insecurity at the individual or family level as opposed to the national level. Owing to the shortcomings of the supply-side approach to food insecurity, a number of other approaches have been proposed, such as quantifying characteristics widely believed to be connected with food insecurity (e.g., household income, height to weight ratios).However, the use of direct measures of food insecurity, such as household food consumption and spending statistics (based on recalls), as well as qualitative assessments, has increased recently due to dissatisfaction with these measures.

The rivalry between farmers and pastorial nomadic people in Nigeria has severely hampered the country's agricultural industry. The majority of the reasons for the disputes between the two were competition for limited resources (land and water), cattle rustling, climate change, farmers encroaching on grazing routes, pastoralists destroying crops, a rise in the number of people and animals, expansion into desert areas, etc.The majority of academics have looked at these important aspects, yet idealism or the desire for conquest and occupation have taken control of many battles. The "age-long farmers and Pastoralists conflict, which is known to all as a pure economic one, has now been hijacked by some criminal elements," stated Sa'ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto(Ankele, 2018).

Pasture is defined as both the terrain used for grazing and grass or other plants that have grown or are planted for feeding grazing animals (such as camels, cows, sheep, goats, and donkeys) (Lodha, 2007).  Conversely, nomadism is a type of social organisation in which individuals travel about in quest of natural resources necessary for their existence (Mayhem, 2009). Normadism incorporates the advantages of mobility and traditional nomadic groups were able to exploit natural resources such as grasses and water at dispersed locations in the course of their mobility (Mayhem, 2009).

Grazing cattle on pasture as opposed to growing crops is the hallmark of the pastoralist land use system (Lodha, 2007).  In contrast, normadism refers to the way of life of tribe members who travel about with their animals in search of pasture and water.  The term "Normadic" describes ranchers that travel about their territory with their cattle in order to feed them on grass that is available (Bellamy, 2007).  Therefore, pastoral nomadism is a type of subsistence agriculture where domesticated animals are herded for their meat, skins, milk, products, or as a means of exchange (Husain, 2012).  Pastoral nomads may be found throughout the world's climatic zones, from the equator to the Arctic circle, according to Husain (2012).  On the equatorial edges of these deserts, they can also be observed crossing dry deserts into tall grass tropical savannas.  In the ancient world (Asia, Africa, and Europe), where there are many pastoralists who herd cattle for a variety of uses, pastoralism has emerged as a major economy (Husain, 2012). The seasonality of rainfall and the requirement to locate other sources of grass for their animals dictate the movements of the majority of modern nomads.  The Fulani in western Africa, the Masai in Kenya, and the Bendouin and Tuaregs in the Sahara desert are a few examples of these nomads (Waugh, 1995).

Numerous pastoral nomads, like the Fulani, roam the dry, semi-arid, and savannah vegetation zones of Africa, where they herd their cattle.  West and central Africa are home to the Fulani, the world's biggest semi-nomadic people group. As they hunt for pasture and water for their animals throughout the years, they herd them over different vegetation zones, which often results in tension and fights with sedentary farming groups in different nations.These frequent altercations and confrontations have turned into a threat to national security, especially in some West African nations like Nigeria.

The confrontations between Fulani pastoralists and farmers have created serious security difficulties since local, state, and federal administrations have been unable to resolve the issue for decades.  The ongoing battles cause a reduction in Nigeria's agricultural output as well as the disturbance of peaceful coexistence, property destruction, fatalities, and the uprooting of people from their homes and villages into camps for internally displaced persons. Despite relevant studies on how pastorial nomadism has affected the human security in African countries, there is a dearth in literature on whether  pastorial nomadism have impact on food security in Nigeria by focusing on the farmers-herders conflict in Southeastern Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

          Research indicates that food production in Nigeria is growing at a pace of less than 2.0% annually, despite estimates of 2.5% annual population increase (NPC and Aku, 2012). Contention and empirical questions have therefore been raised by the mounting evidence of changes in population and food production. According to this proposed theoretical difference, a high population growth rate combined with poor food production would lead to high food demand, creating a demand-supply imbalance that may eventually result in food insecurity.Njoku (2012), referenced by Aku (2012), states that Nigeria imports more than 13 trillion Naira worth of staple foods each year, including as fish, rice, wheat, and sugar. Furthermore, malnutrition affects the entire nation, with rural areas being particularly susceptible to long-term food shortages, imbalanced nutrition, unpredictable food supplies, low-quality food, exorbitant food prices, and even complete starvation (Isaac, 2009).Children in rural Nigeria suffer from a high rate of malnutrition; the numbers vary depending on the geographical zone; in a remote South West portion of the country, 56% of children are said to be malnourished, while in three rural towns in the north, 84.3 percent are (Isaac 2009). Nevertheless, these distributions vary per Nigerian state. The population of the Southeastern state is expected to rise by 3.2% year, but food production is expanding more slowly because of the disputes and activities of pastorial nomadic farmers.

As per UNICEF (2012), the prevalence of severe malnutrition among children in South Eastern states is 8.1%. Additionally, 41% of children under five suffer from stunting due to ongoing malnutrition; 14% of them are wasted, 23% are underweight, and 13.7% of newborns have birth weights under 2500 grammes.This result, together with the high rate of poverty and declining agricultural productivity, point to a clear relationship between hunger and poverty and proper nutrition, which is an investment in human capital that increases production and returns on health and education spending. It is based on this background that the present study seek to examine the impact of pastorial nomadism on food secuirty in nigeria; a case study of farmers-herders conflict in Southeastern Nigeria.

1.3 Research Questions

          The following questions guided the present study;

1. What is the impact of pastorial nomadism on food security in Nigeria?

2. What are the causes of food security in Southeastern part of Nigeria?

3. What are the factors that leads to farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria

4. What are the ways of reducing farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The main objectives of this study is to examine the impactof pastorial nomadism on food secuirty in nigeria; a case study of farmers-herders conflict in Southeastern Nigeria. Specific objectives of the study include;

1. To determine the impact of pastorial nomadism on food security in Nigeria

2. To ascertain the causes of food security in Southeastern part of Nigeria

3. To identifiy the factors that leads to farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria

4. To highlight the ways of reducing farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria

1.5 Research hypotheses

          The following were hypothesized in this study;

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no significcant impact of pastorial nomadism on food security in Nigeria.

H1: There is a significcant impact of pastorial nomadism on food security in Nigeria.

Hypothesis 2

H02: There are no causes of food security in Southeastern part of Nigeria.

H02: There are causes of food security in Southeastern part of Nigeria.

Hypothesis 3

H0: There are no factors that leads to farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria.

H1: There are factors that leads to farmers-herder conflict in Southeastern Nigeria.

Hypothesis 4

H0: There is no significant relationship between pastorial nomadism and food security in Nigeria

H1: There is a significant relationship between pastorial nomadism and food security in Nigeria

1.6 Significance of Study

          The significance of this study is to provide the highlights on the impactof pastorial nomadism on food secuirty with specific reference to farmers-herders conflict in Southeastern Nigeria.

          The findings of this study will help the governments, NGOs (especially those dealing with poverty reduction), CBOs, CDAs, international organizations, academics, students, economic planners and policy makers are intended to benefit from the findings of this research.

The findings of this study will help academics and students particularly those in the field of development economics, agricultural economics and health economics will know what how pastoral nomadism has been a problem in the agricultual procution in SOith eastern Nigeria.

Again, because of the multi-dimensional pattern of food insecurity, that call for interdisciplinary studies, historians, politicians, environmentalists and others interested in development economics are expected to see this work as containing contemporary knowledge on poverty, inequality, and malnutrition. Literature in this aspect of development economics is vital in this important sub-region of West Africa, Nigeria. Work of this kind will certainly contribute to knowledge and will spur similar researches.

1.7. Scope of the study

          This study is limited to the impact of pastorial nomadism on food security in Nigeria. The population of of this study is limited to residents in Southeastern Nigeria.