Stakeholders from ActionAid Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP), Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) and others have called for urgent reforms and collaborative solutions to the persistent farmer-herder conflicts in the country, highlighting the need for structured mediation and investment in ranching infrastructure to secure livelihoods and strengthen food production.
 
 The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, who spoke at the National Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2026 Agriculture Budget in Lagos, yesterday, stressed that the crisis continues to threaten both livestock and crop production across the federation, with severe implications for national food security.

He said the altercations affect not only herders, but also subsistent farmers, particularly those cultivating crops like cassava.
  
Mamedu explained that the core issues driving the conflict are competition over limited resources such as land, pasture, and water, especially during the dry season when herders from the northern region migrate southward in search of feed for their livestock. 
   
The country director noted that increasing farmland encroachment, population growth, and expanding residential development are intensifying tensions between farmers and herders.  He stressed that resolving the crisis requires mediation that goes beyond determining who is right or wrong.

According to him, the focus should be on identifying and addressing the structural causes of the conflict. Mamedu emphasised that modern agricultural practices and technologies have provided alternatives to long-distance cattle movement.

He pointed out that innovations like sack farming allow for food production in limited spaces, while ranching can help reduce movement-related conflict and improve livestock productivity.
  
He called for the establishment of at least one ranch per senatorial district. President of SWOFON, Chinasa Asonye, raised concerns over the sharp decline in the country’s agriculture budget, warning that the sector’s persistent underfunding threatens food security, job creation, and economic resilience.