Conflicts between Cassava Farmers and Cattle Herdsmen in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria Conflicts between Cassava Farmers and Cattle Herdsmen in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper studied the conflicts between cassava farmers and cattle herdsmen in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Six farmers each from the six communities that make up the local government were selected using random sampling techniques, and this gave a total sample size of 36 respondents. Interview schedule was used for data collection, and descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean score, and standard deviation were used in analyzing the data. The results showed that 78.1% of the respondents were male and the mean age was 43 years. However, 63.5% of the respondents were married while the majority (84.4%) of the respondents was full-time farmers. Destruction of crop with a mean score (2.94), raping of farmers (2.87), killing and wounding of farmers (2.81), burning of rangeland (2.75), blockage of routes by farmer (2.72), blockage of water point by farmers (2.72), environmental pollution (2.66), and killing of cattle by farmers (2.28) were seen as the cause of conflict while the use of bamboo fence with a mean score (2.94), help from the village youths (2.88), increase of farm size (2.81), staying late in the farm (2.53), supplementary occupation (2.41), and temporary relocation of farmers from home were used by the farmers as coping strategies for conflict management.