Herdsmen’s perception of ranching in resolving herder-farmers conflict in rural communities in Oyo State, Nigeria

Herders-crop farmers’ competition for land and water in Nigeria has become intense, resulting in conflicts that claim lives and threaten food security. Ranching is a-strategy to mitigate the problem. The study therefore assessed herdsmen’ perception of-ranching in resolving herders-farmers’ conflict in the study area. Multi-stage sampling-technique was used to select 220 respondents from 881 registered herdsmen in 7 Local Government Areas of 50% of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) zones in Oyo State. Results indicate that majority (97.3%) were males with mean age of 43 years and had no formal education beyond elementary level (68.2%). Majority(95.6%) were of Hausa/Fulani ethnic nationality with mean herding experience of 32 years and belonged to Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (92.7 %). Poisoning of cattle-by villagers ranked first among causes of conflicts. Majority (97.3%) were aware that ranching involves restriction of animals to an area of land. Conflicts limited grazing area of herdsmen thereby affecting nutrition of animals.