**4.3 Findings from direct and participant observation**

The harrowing experience of conflict and its many-sided impact on agriculture and community development in Nigeria is incomplete and falls short of speaking personally and directly without a firsthand experience by a researcher who is onsite to track this delicate subject. This general lesson was the first among many we learnt in the field when we gained some close encounters with would-be study participants. Many farmers in the hinterland communities of Ukum were too reserved and withdrawn each time attempts were made to involve them in this social study. We think this is attributable to either of two related facts or both: first, they were too easily agitated to discuss it and recount their personal experiences especially when the study probes more deeply to provoke the ever-haunting traumatizing memories of the carnage many families suffered during the horrors of past conflicts. Many easily referenced the history of 2001 conflict earlier referenced on page 8. On the other hand, some individuals were too afraid to discuss the topic as they mistook the researcher for government agent who had come to gather some sensitive pieces of information from them. These two points, we think, created feelings of palpable fear, suspicion, and heart-searing pain for those who had witnessed past intra- or inter-ethnic conflicts in the area. Those two social inhibitions unfortunately partly account for why we were unable to document some statistical nitty-gritty details on the human and social costs of conflict, which we target and hope will happen as this study progresses in the future.

While the above ambition looms, we personally observed some other facts worth representing here. First, moving around Zaki-Biam huge market and other smaller markets in Ukum LGA, we found that prices of locally produced agricultural (and non-agricultural) goods were high as of the time of this study. Our study found that this was due to fears of impending conflict and the political instability associated with it, which made farmers to cultivate less farmlands. A stringent warning from a

#### **Figure 5.**

*Regional Development in Africa*

**Table 4.**

**Figure 4.**

First, our study found that majority of investors (16 out of 20) who operate businesses around conflict-prone areas of had at one point or the other in the past been directly negatively impacted by conflict. While all 20 respondents admitted that conflicts very negatively affect their investments, 16 out 20 investors expressed feeling insecure around the conflict-ridden areas of Zaki-Biam market in particular and Ukum LGA in general. On the other hand, whereas 15 out of 20 investors stated that they had experienced the occurrence of conflict in the area, which they said impacted their businesses and lives very negatively, 16 of them indicated that, in the heat of conflicts, their business assets were looted especially by indigenes; as a case

**Questions Yes No Declined** A/1 16 3 1 B/2 20 0 0 C/3 3 16 1 D/4 15 3 2 E/5 16 2 2 F/6 18 2 0 G/7 17 2 1 H/8 15 4 1 I/9 20 0 0 J/10 20 0 0

*Impact of conflict on agricultural investment incentives in Ukum, Nigeria.*

*Impact of conflict on agricultural investment incentives in Ukum, Nigeria.*

<sup>4</sup> This reference is (frequently) made to the occurrence of the violence of October 22, 2001, when, in response to the ongoing, decade-long Tiv-Jukun conflict, "[…] the Nigerian army killed more than two hundred unarmed Tiv and destroyed their homes, shops, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State, Nigeria" (See Amnesty International, 2002; Ciboh, 2014;

experience of near genocide in Ukum-Tivland.

**154**

in point, they referenced the 20014

Vanguard Newspaper, November 19, 2001).

*A cross section of a displaced group of farmers taking refuge in an Ukum primary school (the twin pictures above are original to the researcher and were taken on September 4, 2014).*

Police Officer who lives in the area for the purpose of giving the people some sense of security and protection was breathtaking.

*In carrying out your research, tread with great caution watching the extent to which you go into the hinterlands in search of farmers as no one can guarantee when anything might happen especially during the period of bush clearing which marks the beginning of the farming season when age-long land or boundary related conflicts usually occur [Fieldnotes: 2014, August].*

In furtherance with participating in, and personally observing, the goings-on in the life of the Ukum community, we encountered a large group of people inhabiting an elementary school along Ugba road within the Zaki-Biam market area as is displayed in **Figure 5**. Vignette 1 tells the story of the refugees.

**Vignette 1**. Refugees at home [Fieldnotes collected from Zaki-Biam, Ukum LGA, September 4, 2014] Story narrated by an appointed "Caretaker" of the refugee group represented in **Figure 5**. It was on a certain Sunday morning when the Pastor in-charge of St. Anthony's Catholic pariah woke up to the rude shock that a huge crowd of people had invaded and past the night inside the Church building. The 286 people of all ages and genders were found to have fled death from a crisis that arose in Ibi LGA in Taraba State between Fulani and Tiv communities in Ibi LGA. The group that took refuge in the Church compound are Tiv by origin but are in diaspora as farmers who had lived and settled in Ibi LGA for many decades. This was the first time ever this Tiv group in Ibi of Taraba State had any conflict with the Fulani. They were originally from Guma LGA of the Tiv extraction of Benue State. Fleeing the conflict, they were headed to their ancient Guma-Tiv community of origin but were caught up by night and so decided to sleep in the Church compound to continue with their home-bound journey the following morning. When they woke up and set out to do as they had planned they heard of another bigger crisis between the Fulani and the Tiv at home in Guma LGA and so got stuck at Zaki-Biam. The Pastor of the parish gave them refuge in the school premises, treated many of them who were ill at the parish hospital, galvanized and rallied his parishioners for other social services including clothing and constant raw food supply, appointed a parish member as Caretaker of the group as well as another parishioner who organized for water supply and cooking in the open field. The group took their bath in the field at night but slept on the hard crust of the cement floor at night. The Pastor notified the Bishop of the Diocese who instructed the Peace and Justice department of the Diocese to intervene with more and sustained help. The parish members and all their Church sodalities remained faithful in taking care of the refugee group and some of them had already housed them in their personal homes. The Bishop of the Anglican Communion of Zaki-Biam also stepped in and, with his flock provided the group with water containers and regular water supply. The Pastor of St. Anthony's Faith-Community wrote the Ukum LGA Chairman, the Inspector of Police, and the Traditional Ruler of Biam Ward; hardly any responses came from them as they all claimed there was no money to take care of them. Instead the Ukum LGA Chairman stated they should go back to their home to be taken care of. He also ordered they should vacate the school buildings, but thanks to the School Head Mistress who offered the group just one block to stay in while the school was in session. Meanwhile the people were consumed in fear as to what next might be their fate. Some of their teenage children were already hiring out themselves for menial jobs in the Zki-Biam market for little feeding money. The very many of the children who were in school before the conflict broke out a year earlier were now out of school indefinitely. The School Head Mistress expressed great concern over the danger women and girls among the group were exposed to including rape, unwanted pregnancy, and the contracting of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The oldest man in the group cried out over how they had lost many lives before they fled in addition to many of their family members whom they do not know where they fled to as other groups scattered out to other welcoming communities. He also lamented that their houses were burnt down together with all agricultural goods they stored in their granaries not to mention that many of them lost huge sums of money saved in their homes as proceeds from their farm produce sales as they were used to doing. He added that their aggressors were Fulani-Hausa cattle herdsmen whereas they themselves were crop farmers. The conflict arose because the herdsmen invaded their cultivated farmlands and let their livestock destroy all they had labored for and extended the destructive measures to them too claiming they were strangers who had no right to the land they had been cultivated for tens of decades unchallenged. The combatants also looted property in their homes including great values in their granaries and leaving them totally dispossessed of all they value and live for.

**157**

*Agricultural Production Amid Conflict: Implications for Africa's Regional Development*

**Vignette 2.** A few more cases of refugees at home due to land related conflicts in Nigeria

Across the length and breadth of Nigeria, there are multiple occurrences of intra-inter-ethnic conflicts sometimes happening simultaneously. Regardless of the niches of their occurrence, they have been found to share some features in common: they revolve around land and or land-related resources; they usually kick off during planting season and sometimes at any stage in the farming cycle; they claim thousands of lives with thousand others from the warring parties who flee the scenes and are usually displaced and sometimes become permanent refugees in their own country and in distant communities where they are often unwelcome; farmers abandon their unripe crops as they run away from the rampaging fury of their opposing combatants; agro produce stored at homes are either looted or burnt down together with the houses of the fighting groups; diseases of all kinds spread around; increased food scarcity and hunger ensue; suspension of educational, medical and other social services are halted, that is, where they exist at all; and, shocking yet not surprising, political leaders from both sides of the equation hardly go beyond making official statements condemning the act, among others. These are typified in the most and still ongoing violent feud between Utuma community in Biasa LGA of Cross River State and Isu community in Arochukwu LGA of Abia State both in Southeast, Nigeria. Striking are three notable dates of the incidence of conflict between the two ethnic groups as some Nigerian National Daily Newspapers [21–23] and other human rights-focused international observers reported and condemning the resurgence of this age-long conflict. There is a rich splinter of such conflicts hiding in rural farming communities across Nigeria in particular and Africa at large.

From the foregoing specific case drawn from direct observation, a few outstanding study findings emerge: inter-ethnic conflicts also come from clashes between Nigerian Fulani herdsmen (pastoralists) and their neighboring crop farmer-groups; conflict leads to displacement of farming populations; it causes loss of lives; it increases hunger and poverty as farmers are yanked off their source of livelihood; farm lands and agro products in storages are abandoned; looting also occurs; this in turn intensifies food scarcity; it also increases prices of agro-related and other commodities; women and girls are exposed to many dangers; worse still, there seems to be no hopes for a better future for Nigerian rural farmers with no appropriate, effective conflict resolution institutions in place. It is impossible not to see the how conflict among Nigerian, and all African farming communities is not directly

With the foregoing analyses drawn from a wide range of field data, a complex web of connections among closely related impacts of conflict on agricultural production and general development in Ukum community can be stretched out. In a well-

sequenced and corroborated data representation, this study found that when Nigerian hinterland farming communities and their neighbors lurk in conflict, as they often do, many people flee those unsafe niches first in order to save their lives. Among those who escape conflict-ridden environments, young adults who constitute the heart of the requisite labor force assume the greater majority. Follow-up interviews on why youths are the age range who flee most, our study gathered that the political elite of their communities often play opportunism by fronting and sponsoring young men to go into war many of whom die therefrom. However, whether they die in the field of conflict or flee their communities, the study found that they invariably abandon their farms and aged, frail, and vulnerable family members behind. With this and subsequent drop in areas of farmland subjected to cultivation in the next farming season, the communities experience corresponding sharp fall in agricultural productivity. With these food shortage ensues; this is further aggravated by the fact that a good number of conflict-affected farmers are already down with debilitating diseases associated with hunger, malnutrition, exposure to malaria infection in the wild of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86613*

inhibitive of development in the region.

**4.4 Seeking patterns from different areas of field data**

refugee camps and forests, and STDs in the case of women and girls.

*Agricultural Production Amid Conflict: Implications for Africa's Regional Development DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86613*

**Vignette 2.** A few more cases of refugees at home due to land related conflicts in Nigeria Across the length and breadth of Nigeria, there are multiple occurrences of intra-inter-ethnic conflicts sometimes happening simultaneously. Regardless of the niches of their occurrence, they have been found to share some features in common: they revolve around land and or land-related resources; they usually kick off during planting season and sometimes at any stage in the farming cycle; they claim thousands of lives with thousand others from the warring parties who flee the scenes and are usually displaced and sometimes become permanent refugees in their own country and in distant communities where they are often unwelcome; farmers abandon their unripe crops as they run away from the rampaging fury of their opposing combatants; agro produce stored at homes are either looted or burnt down together with the houses of the fighting groups; diseases of all kinds spread around; increased food scarcity and hunger ensue; suspension of educational, medical and other social services are halted, that is, where they exist at all; and, shocking yet not surprising, political leaders from both sides of the equation hardly go beyond making official statements condemning the act, among others. These are typified in the most and still ongoing violent feud between Utuma community in Biasa LGA of Cross River State and Isu community in Arochukwu LGA of Abia State both in Southeast, Nigeria. Striking are three notable dates of the incidence of conflict between the two ethnic groups as some Nigerian National Daily Newspapers [21–23] and other human rights-focused international observers reported and condemning the resurgence of this age-long conflict. There is a rich splinter of such conflicts hiding in rural farming communities across Nigeria in particular and Africa at large.

From the foregoing specific case drawn from direct observation, a few outstanding study findings emerge: inter-ethnic conflicts also come from clashes between Nigerian Fulani herdsmen (pastoralists) and their neighboring crop farmer-groups; conflict leads to displacement of farming populations; it causes loss of lives; it increases hunger and poverty as farmers are yanked off their source of livelihood; farm lands and agro products in storages are abandoned; looting also occurs; this in turn intensifies food scarcity; it also increases prices of agro-related and other commodities; women and girls are exposed to many dangers; worse still, there seems to be no hopes for a better future for Nigerian rural farmers with no appropriate, effective conflict resolution institutions in place. It is impossible not to see the how conflict among Nigerian, and all African farming communities is not directly inhibitive of development in the region.

#### **4.4 Seeking patterns from different areas of field data**

With the foregoing analyses drawn from a wide range of field data, a complex web of connections among closely related impacts of conflict on agricultural production and general development in Ukum community can be stretched out. In a wellsequenced and corroborated data representation, this study found that when Nigerian hinterland farming communities and their neighbors lurk in conflict, as they often do, many people flee those unsafe niches first in order to save their lives. Among those who escape conflict-ridden environments, young adults who constitute the heart of the requisite labor force assume the greater majority. Follow-up interviews on why youths are the age range who flee most, our study gathered that the political elite of their communities often play opportunism by fronting and sponsoring young men to go into war many of whom die therefrom. However, whether they die in the field of conflict or flee their communities, the study found that they invariably abandon their farms and aged, frail, and vulnerable family members behind. With this and subsequent drop in areas of farmland subjected to cultivation in the next farming season, the communities experience corresponding sharp fall in agricultural productivity. With these food shortage ensues; this is further aggravated by the fact that a good number of conflict-affected farmers are already down with debilitating diseases associated with hunger, malnutrition, exposure to malaria infection in the wild of refugee camps and forests, and STDs in the case of women and girls.

*Regional Development in Africa*

of security and protection was breathtaking.

*usually occur [Fieldnotes: 2014, August].*

displayed in **Figure 5**. Vignette 1 tells the story of the refugees.

and leaving them totally dispossessed of all they value and live for.

Police Officer who lives in the area for the purpose of giving the people some sense

*In carrying out your research, tread with great caution watching the extent to which you go into the hinterlands in search of farmers as no one can guarantee when anything might happen especially during the period of bush clearing which marks the beginning of the farming season when age-long land or boundary related conflicts* 

In furtherance with participating in, and personally observing, the goings-on in the life of the Ukum community, we encountered a large group of people inhabiting an elementary school along Ugba road within the Zaki-Biam market area as is

**Vignette 1**. Refugees at home [Fieldnotes collected from Zaki-Biam, Ukum LGA, September 4, 2014] Story narrated by an appointed "Caretaker" of the refugee group represented in **Figure 5**. It was on a certain Sunday morning when the Pastor in-charge of St. Anthony's Catholic pariah woke up to the rude shock that a huge crowd of people had invaded and past the night inside the Church building. The 286 people of all ages and genders were found to have fled death from a crisis that arose in Ibi LGA in Taraba State between Fulani and Tiv communities in Ibi LGA. The group that took refuge in the Church compound are Tiv by origin but are in diaspora as farmers who had lived and settled in Ibi LGA for many decades. This was the first time ever this Tiv group in Ibi of Taraba State had any conflict with the Fulani. They were originally from Guma LGA of the Tiv extraction of Benue State. Fleeing the conflict, they were headed to their ancient Guma-Tiv community of origin but were caught up by night and so decided to sleep in the Church compound to continue with their home-bound journey the following morning. When they woke up and set out to do as they had planned they heard of another bigger crisis between the Fulani and the Tiv at home in Guma LGA and so got stuck at Zaki-Biam. The Pastor of the parish gave them refuge in the school premises, treated many of them who were ill at the parish hospital, galvanized and rallied his parishioners for other social services including clothing and constant raw food supply, appointed a parish member as Caretaker of the group as well as another parishioner who organized for water supply and cooking in the open field. The group took their bath in the field at night but slept on the hard crust of the cement floor at night. The Pastor notified the Bishop of the Diocese who instructed the Peace and Justice department of the Diocese to intervene with more and sustained help. The parish members and all their Church sodalities remained faithful in taking care of the refugee group and some of them had already housed them in their personal homes. The Bishop of the Anglican Communion of Zaki-Biam also stepped in and, with his flock provided the group with water containers and regular water supply. The Pastor of St. Anthony's Faith-Community wrote the Ukum LGA Chairman, the Inspector of Police, and the Traditional Ruler of Biam Ward; hardly any responses came from them as they all claimed there was no money to take care of them. Instead the Ukum LGA Chairman stated they should go back to their home to be taken care of. He also ordered they should vacate the school buildings, but thanks to the School Head Mistress who offered the group just one block to stay in while the school was in session. Meanwhile the people were consumed in fear as to what next might be their fate. Some of their teenage children were already hiring out themselves for menial jobs in the Zki-Biam market for little feeding money. The very many of the children who were in school before the conflict broke out a year earlier were now out of school indefinitely. The School Head Mistress expressed great concern over the danger women and girls among the group were exposed to including rape, unwanted pregnancy, and the contracting of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The oldest man in the group cried out over how they had lost many lives before they fled in addition to many of their family members whom they do not know where they fled to as other groups scattered out to other welcoming communities. He also lamented that their houses were burnt down together with all agricultural goods they stored in their granaries not to mention that many of them lost huge sums of money saved in their homes as proceeds from their farm produce sales as they were used to doing. He added that their aggressors were Fulani-Hausa cattle herdsmen whereas they themselves were crop farmers. The conflict arose because the herdsmen invaded their cultivated farmlands and let their livestock destroy all they had labored for and extended the destructive measures to them too claiming they were strangers who had no right to the land they had been cultivated for tens of decades unchallenged. The combatants also looted property in their homes including great values in their granaries

**156**

In the face of the insecurity created by ethnic conflicts, investors find no compelling reasons to cast their treasure in the affected communities especially as many of them lose their business assets to looters most of whom are indigenes usually from the warring factions of the same locality or from opposable ethnic communities. Overall, therefore, Nigerian farming communities experience the horror of food insecurity, high prices of food stuffs and other commodities, backwardness in socioeconomic development and circular poverty due to constant conflicts.

Engaged in interviews on the issue of why Nigerian farming communities experience many and sometimes persistent conflicts among themselves and with their close and distant neighbors, some telling explanations bordering on causality were adduced. First, many held to the ideology that conflict is unavoidable among them because they and their neighbors are either farmers and so always in need of more land against the pressure mounted by increased food need and population growth. The second explanation appealed to the primordial conflict which led to the fission of the original Tiv group during the first stages of its migration and settlement where it is now. Incidentally, those who participated in the interviews would not see that the human and social cost of conflict, usually high and horrendous, is enough reason to stop or deter them from employing conflict in asserting their right over their land when it is contested by another group. Instead they cited the many conflicts within and around their area to argue that conflict is unavoidable and the other inevitable side of their lives as farmers. Particularly, they blame the official government for not making enough effort to institute effective conflict management mechanics in their communities. It was also found that when the government does step in during conflict, privileged officials politicize the moment as opportunities to further enrich themselves and gain more economically motivated social and political positions in society on the one hand and, on the other, that government intervention during conflicts between and among communities is often conducted in such ways that favor some communities to the detriment of others making it rather more difficult for the conflict to end peacefully.
