In Nigeria's fertile Middle Belt, a quiet standoff often precedes violence. Cattle herders search for shrinking pasture as farmers guard cultivated land that sustains their families. What has long been a seasonal tension has hardened into one of the country's deadliest internal conflicts, driven by climate change, population growth, and competing claims over land.

Over the past two decades, clashes between crop farmers and pastoralists have killed tens of thousands of people, according to Nigeria's House of Representatives, which estimates that more than 60,000 lives have been lost since 2001. Entire communities have been uprooted, food production has fallen, and fear has pushed rural residents toward cities.

On open fields in central Nigeria, herder Lookman Adam moves cautiously with his cattle, aware that nearby farmers are watching closely to ensure his animals do not stray onto planted land. Encounters like these, residents say, can quickly turn violent.

"Both the government and farmers are against us," Adam said. "Even when farmers clearly go against us, we are always seen to be the problem. We can't continue like that. We must love ourselves if this country has to develop."

Farmers tell a different story, shaped by loss and displacement. Ribetshak Anthony, a crop farmer who fled his home after attacks, says coexistence has become increasingly difficult.

"A lot of my relatives have been killed by herders," he said. "I relocated from Mangu to this community. I had to lease this land to cultivate my crops. Let the herders adopt the same approach, by keeping their cows in one place, and there will be peace instead of going about destroying our crops."

Climate change has intensified the conflict by degrading traditional grazing routes and pasturelands. Erratic rainfall and desertification have pushed herders southward, bringing them into closer contact with settled farming communities.

"There are both human and natural factors," said Caleb Menegbe, an agriculture expert. "A lot of arable land where herders have to graze is no longer usable because there is less land with good grass for grazing. The type of herders we have in the country is people who move around; they are nomads, they don't stay in one place, and they don't ranch. We also have issues of migration."

The toll has continued to rise. In 2024 alone, more than 400 people were killed in renewed clashes, according to local reports. Cattle breeders say violence has also devastated their livelihoods, with more than four million cattle having been rustled over the past decade, and about 15,000 herders killed.

Experts argue that resolving the crisis will require a fundamental shift away from open grazing toward regulated ranching systems.

"We should value lives and have a shift in ideology," Menegbe said. "In the developed world, you hardly find anyone grazing around. We should buy into ranching. For instance, I will tell you that on one hectare of land, you can raise more than a thousand cows there."

The Nigerian government says it is moving in that direction. Authorities have created a new Ministry of Livestock Development and are promoting improved cattle breeds, sustainable pasture cultivation, and ranching systems to replace nomadic practices.

But on the ground, where farmers and herders still face each other across contested land, many fear that meaningful change may come too slowly to stop the next outbreak of violence.

Edited by CGTN Africa reporter Marion Gachuhi