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A new report by a global humanitarian organisation, Mercy Corps, has showed that recent clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the North-Central is costing Nigeria at least $14 billion in potential revenues annually.
Mercy Corps, funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID) issued the report after a research it carried out between 2013 and 2016 on the causes and effects of the perennial clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria.
The report was officially launched at an event at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, on Thursday.
The clashes, which have resulted in the death of thousands of rural dwellers over the past two decades, usually arise from disagreements over the use of essential resources such as farmland, grazing areas and water, the research found.
Based on the research, Mercy Corps urged the Nigerian government and international donors to quickly increase investment to resolve inter-communal clashes in Nigeria and to ensure conflict management and livelihood development strategies positively reinforce each other.
