The ongoing conflict between farmers and herdsmen across the North-Central is costing Nigeria at least $14 billion in potential revenues annually, a new report by a global humanitarian organisation, Mercy Corps, has found.
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.  “While Boko Haram violence in Northeast Nigeria garners the majority of media attention, the study shows that ongoing, low-level conflict is thwarting the country’s economic development to an enormous extent,” Iveta Ouvry, country director of Mercy Corps, said. “We found that the average household affected by conflict today could see income increase by at least 64 percent, and potentially 210 percent or higher, if conflicts were resolved.”
 

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