| Summary: | Smallholder farmers in northeastern Nigeria face the triple threat of food insecurity, climate volatility, and conflict. Northeastern Nigeria has some of the highest levels of food insecurity in Nigeria. Additionally, delayed, shorter, and more volatile rainy seasons have led to massive floods, depleted soil quality, and disrupted agricultural growing seasons which ultimately constrain agricultural productivity. Moreover, conflict between pastoralist livestock herders and settled agricultural communities over land use, as well as extremism, has led millions of people to flee from their homes.
These threats are closely interrelated. As in much of sub-Saharan Africa, climate change has extended dry seasons in Nigeria. This change in seasonal rainfall patterns both limits local agricultural production and disrupts long-standing symbiotic relationships between pastoralist livestock herders and settled ag ricultural households, leading to conflict between these groups. Exposure to conflict itself contributes to reduced agricultural production and increased food insecurity. With limited social safety nets available, many households exposed to conflict either turn to informal self-employment while reducing agricultural labor or migrate domestically in search of safety, peace, and security.
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