Introduction to Farmer and Herder Land Conflicts in Plateau State.

Plateau State sits at the intersection of diverse livelihoods, identities, and land-use systems. Its highland geography, fertile valleys, and strategic location have long supported farming, livestock rearing, and trade. For many years, farming and herding communities in Plateau State managed access to land, water, grazing routes, and forest resources through customary arrangements, seasonal understandings, and everyday negotiation. These arrangements enabled coexistence, even where land was scarce.

Over time, however, farmer–herder land and natural resource conflicts have become one of the most persistent sources of insecurity and social tension in the state. These conflicts are rarely about land alone. They are shaped by history, identity, memory of past violence, and changing patterns of settlement and land use. Disputes often emerge from seemingly small incidents such as crop damage, blocked grazing routes, or access to water but can escalate quickly when trust is low, and communication breaks down.

In Plateau State, land is deeply connected to belonging and historical presence. Many communities trace their identity and legitimacy to ancestral occupation, while others rely on negotiated access tied to seasonal movement and long-standing relationships. These different relationships to land coexist within the same spaces, but they are not always equally recognised. As pressure on land increases, ambiguity over who has the right to use particular spaces, such as farmland, cattle routes, water points, or forest areas, has become one of the most sensitive triggers of conflict.

Environmental stress has intensified competition over land and resources. Expanding cultivation, reduced fallow periods, deforestation, and climate variability have narrowed the space available for both farming and grazing. Traditional cattle routes and resting areas have been eroded or absorbed into farmland, increasing the likelihood of livestock straying into crops. These structural pressures mean that conflict risk is highest during planting and harvest seasons, when land use overlaps most sharply.

Land governance in Plateau State operates through a mix of customary authority, local government oversight, and statutory law, but coordination is often unclear. Formal land documentation remains limited in rural areas, while customary understandings vary across communities. Where authority is contested or unclear, disputes over land and resources can quickly become politicised, drawing in wider communal and identity-based narratives that make resolution more difficult.

Plateau State has experienced repeated cycles of violence linked to land and resource disputes. These experiences have heightened fear and suspicion, making communities more

sensitive to perceived threats. Rumours, misinterpretations of events, and the public handling of minor incidents can rapidly inflame tensions. As a result, prevention and early intervention are widely recognised as more effective than reactive responses once violence has occurred.

Despite these challenges, communities across Plateau State continue to rely primarily on local mechanisms to manage farmer–herder disputes. Traditional rulers, Ardos, religious leaders, elders, women leaders, youth representatives, and local security actors play central roles in early warning, quiet mediation, joint fact-finding, compensation negotiation, and reconciliation. Many disputes are deliberately handled privately and calmly to avoid public mobilisation and escalation.

Where these processes work well, they are characterised by impartial leadership, clear sequencing of dialogue, transparent verification of facts, and collective oversight. Formal institutions such as the police or courts are usually approached only when community processes break down or when serious violence has occurred.

These guidelines were developed to document and strengthen what already works in Plateau State. They draw on extensive field engagement, including community discussions, focus group conversations, and expert validation across multiple local government areas. Rather than introducing new systems, the guidelines organise existing practices into clear procedures that communities and practitioners can adapt to their own contexts.

By grounding guidance in local experience and practical realities, these guidelines aim to support early prevention, fair mediation, and durable agreements that reduce violence, protect livelihoods, and sustain coexistence between farming and herding communities in Plateau State.