Nigeria — Transhumance Tracking Tool Report — Early Warning Dashboard 16 (August 2023)

In northern Nigeria and other Sahel regions, the escalation of hostility and violent conflicts between transhumant herders and farmers are linked to several key factors. One of the main contributors is the competition over natural resources, which is exacerbated by the low rainfall, insecurity, insurgency, growing population and the attendant land-intensive demands for both farming and transhumance activities. Additionally, year-round farming and the conventional methods of land allocation to farming and herding activities add to the tensions, as farmers may encroach on designated grazing areas and routes, and herders in turn resort to destructive practices such as trespassing on farmlands, causing crop destruction and polluting water sources to feed their cattle. These factors sometimes result in deadly conflicts.

To understand, evaluate and mitigate conflicts between transhumant herders and sedentary farmers, the Transhumance Tracking Tools (TTT) as a component of IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), and supported by a network of community key informants, implemented the Early Warning System in nine selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) located in the neighbouring states of Adamawa and Taraba (7 and 2 LGAs of Adamawa and Taraba state respectively). The triangulated 342 alerts linked to farmer-transhumance events for August 2023 comprise of 322 (94%) events and 20 (6%) movement alerts. Of the reported alerts, the largest number, representing 23 per cent of all alerts are reported in Demsa LGA in Adamawa state followed by Zing LGA of Taraba at 16 per cent. The disaggregated event alerts in the two states show the highest reported events of 21 per cent for Monkin ward within Zing LGA in Taraba state, followed by Kola ward in Guyuk LGA of Adamawa at 20 per cent, while Nassarawo Demsa and Gwamba wards of Demsa LGA reported 15 per cent each.
The reported alerts suggested instances of 1 per cent population displacement and 21 per cent of instances that resulted in casualties or injuries.