Ranching as a Path to Ending Herder–Farmer Conflicts
By Humaid Rabiu Shehu
While navigating the vast and often chaotic terrain of social media recently, I came across a short but compelling video analysing the prospects of ranching as a tool for strengthening Nigeria’s national security architecture. What initially appeared to be a routine agricultural conversation quickly unfolded into a deeper and more urgent national dialogue about peace, governance, and sustainable development.
For decades, the farmers–herders conflict has ranked among Nigeria’s most persistent and destabilising internal security challenges. What began as seasonal disputes over land and water has gradually escalated into violent confrontations, mass displacement of rural communities, heightened ethnic and religious tensions, and growing threats to national food security. The crisis has long outgrown the boundaries of livelihood disagreements and now sits squarely within the domain of national security.
Against this backdrop, the real question confronting policymakers is no longer whether Nigeria should transition from open grazing to ranching, but how urgently and deliberately this shift can be executed to consolidate peace, protect livelihoods, and strengthen internal stability. Ranching, in this context, is no longer just an agricultural reform; it is increasingly a strategic governance and security intervention.
As highlighted in the PRNigeria video that sparked this reflection, ending open grazing should not be misrepresented as ethnic exclusion or cultural targeting. Rather, it is a pragmatic response to a changing security and demographic reality. Over time, farmer–herder clashes have evolved from sporadic disputes into organised, sometimes criminal violence. Unregulated livestock movement has become a catalyst for insecurity, creating flashpoints that overwhelm both local communities and security agencies.
Ranching offers a practical and forward-looking alternative. By confining livestock to designated and regulated areas, it reduces direct and often volatile contact between farmers and herders, significantly lowering the risk of confrontation. Beyond conflict prevention, ranching enhances productivity, enables effective veterinary and extension services, supports disease control, and allows the state to treat livestock rearing as a modern, regulated economic activity rather than an informal, itinerant practice.
At the subnational level, several states have already provided instructive lessons. In Benue State, years of deadly clashes forced the government to adopt decisive legislative action through the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017. While the law did not eliminate violence overnight or erase deep-rooted mistrust, it fundamentally redefined grazing from a cultural entitlement to an economic activity subject to regulation and state oversight.
Plateau State offers a complementary example. Given its long history of communal violence, authorities recognised that military deployments alone were insufficient. Greater emphasis was placed on controlled grazing arrangements supported by sustained local dialogue. In some communities, land-use agreements backed by peace committees helped prevent minor disputes from escalating into deadly confrontations. Where herders were known, settled, and held accountable, conflicts proved easier to manage through mediation rather than violence.
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These experiences point to a crucial lesson: ranching works best when paired with inclusive, community-based conflict resolution mechanisms. While it may not instantly dissolve long-standing mistrust, it removes one of the most volatile triggers of rural violence and provides a structured framework for dispute management before conflicts spiral out of control.
At the federal level, the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged that open grazing had become increasingly incompatible with Nigeria’s rapid population growth, environmental pressures, and escalating violence. This recognition informed policy experimentation aimed at modernising the livestock sector, most notably through the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).
Under the NLTP, the RUGA (Rural Grazing Area) initiative was introduced to establish designated settlements where pastoralists could rear cattle, access veterinary services, education, and social amenities, while eliminating uncontrolled cattle movement. Despite its technical logic, RUGA encountered widespread resistance, largely driven by fears of land appropriation and ethnic favouritism. The initiative was eventually suspended at the federal level, though some states adapted elements of it within broader livestock strategies. The episode underscored a vital truth: even well-designed solutions collapse without trust, consultation, and transparent communication.
Building on these lessons, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to be repositioning livestock reform within a broader economic and security framework. Where the Buhari era was defined by agenda-setting and policy trials, the current approach leans toward consolidation, depoliticisation, and economic optimisation.
President Tinubu has tasked Vice President Kashim Shettima and the National Economic Council (NEC) with driving a national ranching initiative aimed at transforming existing grazing reserves into modern ranches. Beyond conflict reduction, the programme seeks to unlock the economic potential of the livestock value chain. States have been directed to identify suitable lands, while a dedicated committee is developing an integrated roadmap that incorporates digital systems, land management frameworks, and livestock development strategies aligned with the NLTP.
Speaking at a Federal Executive Council meeting in December, the President was explicit about the security and economic rationale behind the reforms. “We must eliminate these areas of conflict and make the livestock reform economically viable,” he said. “The opportunity is there—let’s utilise it. You should emphasise the constitutional requirement that land belongs to the states.”
Vice President Shettima, as Chairman of the NEC, has since been tasked with sensitising state governors and key stakeholders to ensure broad-based buy-in and coordinated implementation across the federation.
Taken together, these evolving policies reflect a growing consensus: Nigeria’s farmers–herders crisis is no longer a marginal rural issue. It is a central national security challenge driven largely by the persistence of open grazing in an increasingly complex socio-economic and environmental environment.
Ultimately, transitioning from open grazing to ranching is not about erasing tradition or privileging one group over another. It is about aligning agricultural practices with the realities of a modern, densely populated, and security-conscious nation. Ranching offers a pathway to reduce violence, improve productivity, strengthen governance, and rebuild trust between communities and the state.
For this promise to be realised, policy must be matched with transparency, sustained dialogue, and genuine inclusion of all stakeholders. If pursued with political will, community participation, and institutional consistency, ranching can become more than a policy choice—it can evolve into a cornerstone of Nigeria’s quest for lasting peace, food security, and national stability.
Humaid Rabiu Shehu writes from Abuja.
