Gendered Impacts of Climate-Driven Farmer–Herder Conflicts: Examining the Impacts of Risk Communication, Grassroots Livelihoods, and Food Security in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southeast Regions

Abstract

The increasing rate of climate uncertainty, including irregular rainfall, desertification and land degradation has exacerbated farmers-herders conflicts in some regions in Nigeria. This study investigates how climate-induced conflicts intersects with unequal access to communication infrastructure and gender inequality to shape everyday life in a selected hot zones in the Nigeria’s  Middle Belt (Plateau and Benue States) and Southeast (Ebonyi and Enugu States). The study adopted comparative mixed approach to integrate gender-disaggregated focus group discussion and household survey, oral interviews and secondary literature on climate and conflict. Findings show that inasmuch as climate variability stand as structural determinant of resource conflict, outcomes of such conflicts are majorly framed by unequal communication infrastructure and weak institutions. For instance, the study established that women face unequal disruptions like increased vulnerability to violence and displacement, heightened unpaid care burdens, limited market access, and reduced agricultural productivity, resulting from their exclusion from risk communication infrastructure. It argues that timely access to reliable information significantly improves adaptive strength of grassroots communities and food security. Comparative analysis reveals more severe vulnerability in the Middle Belt than in the Southeast, reflecting differences in conflict intensity and communication infrastructure. The study concludes that effective interventions must integrate gender-sensitive risk communication with governance and livelihood reforms.