Effects of herdsmen activities on cassava production in Yewa North Local Government Area, Ogun State Nigeria

Abstract

Violent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers are common in South-west, Nigeria. This may cause declined agricultural  production resulting in food insecurity. This study therefore examined the effects of herdsmen activities on cassava production in Yewa  North Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting 103 registered crop  farmers in the study area. Primary data were obtained through the use of a well-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using  frequency counts, percentages, mean and Student-t test. Results revealed that the mean age, household size, annual income and farming experience of the respondents were 58.54 years, 6 person, N 58592.23k and 26.07 years respectively. Majority (75.7%) of the respondents  were male, 83.5% were married, 67.0% were Christian while 33.0% had no formal education. Also, 51.5% were in cooperative society while 72.8% indicated that farming is their primary occupation. The major arable crops grown were cassava (100.0%) and maize (89.3%), high  destruction of crops (x = 2.92), destruction of properties (x = 2.89), and kidnapping (x = 2.82) as the major activities of herdsmen in the  study area. Furthermore, the mean cassava produced before and after the herdsmen were 5 and 3 tonnes respectively. Student t-test  revealed a significant difference in cassava production (t =7.557, p≤0.05), prices of crop sold (t =8.881, p≤0.05) before and after the  herdsmen activities. The study concluded that the activities of herdsmen had negative effect on the crop farmer in the study area. Therefore, the study recommended that peace building mechanism should be implemented to resolve the conflict between the cassava  farmers and herdsmen in the study area.