Community-based Structures and Edutainment for Farmer-Herder Peacebuilding: Formative Evidence from Oyo State, Nigeria

Community-based Structures and Edutainment for Farmer-Herder Peacebuilding: Formative Evidence from Oyo State, Nigeria | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Community-based Structures and Edutainment for Farmer-Herder Peacebuilding: Formative Evidence from Oyo State, Nigeria Nathaniel Siji Olutegbe, Paul Kwame Nkegbe This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9084065/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria constitute a persistent security crisis, with Oyo State emerging as a critical hotspot driven by resource competition, climate-induced migration, and weak land-use governance. This study employed a mixed-methods design to assess conflict dynamics and the potential of edutainment and community-based peacebuilding in the state, drawing on 148 household surveys, nine Focus Group Discussions (81 participants), and two Key Informant Interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and OLS mediation regression with bootstrapped indirect effects. Findings show that JDPM-led structures, including town hall dialogues, conflict resolution committees, and early warning systems, have improved farmer-herder communication, yet social integration (52.0%), peace-readiness (54.7%), and peaceful predisposition (55.4%) remained low. Herders demonstrated significantly stronger social integration (t = -4.34) and peaceful predisposition (t = -6.96) than farmers. Edutainment exposure was positively associated with social integration (β = 0.1656), which in turn was positively associated with peaceful predisposition (β = 0.4786). Being female was negatively associated with social integration (β = -0.4607, p < 0.001), while herder identity was positively associated with both social integration (β = 0.6004) and peaceful predisposition (β = 0.3648). Prior conflict exposure negatively predicted both outcomes, underscoring that unresolved grievances remain a structural constraint on peace attitudes independent of edutainment engagement. Radio, mobile phones, and WhatsApp were effective dissemination channels, though language diversity, infrastructure gaps, and gendered access constrained reach. Integrating edutainment with community-driven mechanisms offers a scalable pathway for rebuilding trust and sustaining long-term peace. Farmer–herder conflict Peaceful coexistence Social integration Edutainment ACLED Nigeria Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 14 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9084065","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":605963341,"identity":"f4cab28b-e0d0-4b94-9ba7-1cba10d18639","order_by":0,"name":"Nathaniel Siji Olutegbe","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCByBCgoHxAYMBkHGAGC0JIKUSDMwGJGthkwDzCGkx5z/A+CCx7Y+cfHTzsWqeAgY5vhsJbA+/4NFiOSOB2SCxzcDY8M6xtNs8BgzGkjcS2I1l8GgxuAF0D1BL4sYZOWYgLYkbgLZIS+DTcv4AWEv9xhn534qBWuoJazmQANaSIC+Rw8YM1JJgANQi+QGvwxKbDRLOGRtukDlmLDnHQMJw5pmHbdJ4dAAddvjggw9lcvLys5sffnjzx0ae73jyMckf+PQwMDZAXQimJMAizDx4tUCBfAOyMfhtGQWjYBSMghEGANj/SqnAcQvTAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ibadan","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nathaniel","middleName":"Siji","lastName":"Olutegbe","suffix":""},{"id":605963342,"identity":"b0ca3ac8-3605-4186-9371-475a552e1675","order_by":1,"name":"Paul Kwame Nkegbe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University for Development Studies","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paul","middleName":"Kwame","lastName":"Nkegbe","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-10 12:38:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9084065/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9084065/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104955078,"identity":"4c972c3b-27a8-4925-bc85-0b995d087eca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-19 07:48:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1441483,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DiscoverSustainabilityFarmerherderPaper121.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9084065/v1_covered_bb558f6a-1cef-45ed-beb8-516bdfd75967.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Community-based Structures and Edutainment for Farmer-Herder Peacebuilding: Formative Evidence from Oyo State, Nigeria","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Farmer–herder conflict, Peaceful coexistence, Social integration, Edutainment, ACLED, Nigeria","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9084065/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9084065/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eFarmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria constitute a persistent security crisis, with Oyo State emerging as a critical hotspot driven by resource competition, climate-induced migration, and weak land-use governance. This study employed a mixed-methods design to assess conflict dynamics and the potential of edutainment and community-based peacebuilding in the state, drawing on 148 household surveys, nine Focus Group Discussions (81 participants), and two Key Informant Interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and OLS mediation regression with bootstrapped indirect effects. Findings show that JDPM-led structures, including town hall dialogues, conflict resolution committees, and early warning systems, have improved farmer-herder communication, yet social integration (52.0%), peace-readiness (54.7%), and peaceful predisposition (55.4%) remained low. Herders demonstrated significantly stronger social integration (t = -4.34) and peaceful predisposition (t = -6.96) than farmers. Edutainment exposure was positively associated with social integration (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.1656), which in turn was positively associated with peaceful predisposition (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.4786). Being female was negatively associated with social integration (β = -0.4607, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), while herder identity was positively associated with both social integration (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.6004) and peaceful predisposition (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.3648). Prior conflict exposure negatively predicted both outcomes, underscoring that unresolved grievances remain a structural constraint on peace attitudes independent of edutainment engagement. Radio, mobile phones, and WhatsApp were effective dissemination channels, though language diversity, infrastructure gaps, and gendered access constrained reach. 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