Prospects of community-based structures and edutainment for farmer-herder peacebuilding in Oyo State, Nigeria
- 1Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ibadan
- 2Department of Applied Economics, University for Development Studies
Abstract
Farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria threaten rural livelihoods, with Oyo State emerging as a hotspot driven by resource competition, climate-induced migration, and weak land-use governance. Managing this conflict directly affects SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This study assessed conflict dynamics and the potential of edutainment and community-based peacebuilding. We analysed 148 household surveys, nine focus group discussions (81 participants), and seven key informant interviews using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and OLS mediation regression with bootstrapped indirect effects. Radio, mobile phones, and WhatsApp were key edutainment tools, though language barriers, infrastructure gaps, and gendered access limited reach. Community-based structures have improved farmer-herder communication, yet social integration (52.0%), peace-readiness (54.7%), and peaceful predisposition (55.4%) remained low. Herders showed significantly stronger social integration (t = −4.34) and peaceful predisposition (t = −6.96) than farmers. Edutainment exposure predicted peace-readiness (β = 0.2066). However, peace-readiness alone did not directly predict peaceful predisposition; rather, social integration mediated the effect of edutainment (indirect effect ab = 0.0793, 95% BCa CI [0.0041, 0.1855]) in shaping predisposition. Community structures positively predicted peace-readiness (β = 0.9959) overall, but the interaction with herder identity revealed a negative effect on peaceful predisposition (β = −1.5933), indicating that current mechanisms may be less inclusive for herders. Being female (β = − 0.4607) and prior conflict exposure (β = − 0.3360) negatively predicted social integration. Further, conflict experience predicted peaceful predisposition negatively (β = − 0.2406). Integrating edutainment with inclusive community-driven mechanisms offers a complementary pathway for rebuilding trust and sustaining long-term peace, thereby advancing sustainable development at local and national levels.
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BibTeX
@article{olutegbe2026prospects,
title = {{Prospects of community-based structures and edutainment for farmer-herder peacebuilding in Oyo State, Nigeria}},
author = {Nathaniel Siji Olutegbe and Paul Kwame Nkegbe},
journal = {Discover Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1007/s43621-026-04085-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04085-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prospects of community-based structures and edutainment for farmer-herder peacebuilding in Oyo State, Nigeria
AU - Nathaniel Siji Olutegbe
AU - Paul Kwame Nkegbe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Discover Sustainability
DO - 10.1007/s43621-026-04085-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04085-w
AB - Farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria threaten rural livelihoods, with Oyo State emerging as a hotspot driven by resource competition, climate-induced migration, and weak land-use governance. Managing this conflict directly affects SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This study assessed conflict dynamics and the potential of edutainment and community-based peacebuilding. We analysed 148 household surveys, nine focus group discussions (81 participants), and seven key informant interviews using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and OLS mediation regression with bootstrapped indirect effects. Radio, mobile phones, and WhatsApp were key edutainment tools, though language barriers, infrastructure gaps, and gendered access limited reach. Community-based structures have improved farmer-herder communication, yet social integration (52.0%), peace-readiness (54.7%), and peaceful predisposition (55.4%) remained low. Herders showed significantly stronger social integration (t = −4.34) and peaceful predisposition (t = −6.96) than farmers. Edutainment exposure predicted peace-readiness (β = 0.2066). However, peace-readiness alone did not directly predict peaceful predisposition; rather, social integration mediated the effect of edutainment (indirect effect ab = 0.0793, 95% BCa CI [0.0041, 0.1855]) in shaping predisposition. Community structures positively predicted peace-readiness (β = 0.9959) overall, but the interaction with herder identity revealed a negative effect on peaceful predisposition (β = −1.5933), indicating that current mechanisms may be less inclusive for herders. Being female (β = − 0.4607) and prior conflict exposure (β = − 0.3360) negatively predicted social integration. Further, conflict experience predicted peaceful predisposition negatively (β = − 0.2406). Integrating edutainment with inclusive community-driven mechanisms offers a complementary pathway for rebuilding trust and sustaining long-term peace, thereby advancing sustainable development at local and national levels.
SN - 2662-9984
ER -