Grazing reserves and stock routes comprise an institutional land allocation strategy that was first introduced in the former Northern Region of Nigeria in 1965. These provisions were subsequently incorporated into federal law with the creation of additional states in 1967. The primary purpose of grazing reserves was to establish land for migrant pastoralists and thereby prevent encroachment from agriculture. Stock routes were similarly designed to secure corridors of passage between farms, linking grazing reserves with one another and with routes extending across international borders.
Research has consistently highlighted that cattle incursions into farmland represent the single most significant source of conflict between farmers and herders. In principle, grazing reserves and stock routes remain appropriate mechanisms for reducing such conflict. However, widespread encroachment has rendered them largely ineffective in many areas. If properly reformulated and demarcated, they have the potential both to reduce conflict and to enhance agricultural and pastoral productivity.
Against this backdrop, a study was undertaken by SPRiNG in 2025 to assess the status of grazing reserves and stock routes and to examine the perspectives of state authorities, pastoralists, and farmers living within and around them. Fieldwork was carried out in 13 states across the Northern two-thirds of Nigeria where most gazetted grazing reserves and stock routes are located, with state selection shaped primarily by security considerations.
Findings revealed considerable variation between states. Some have adopted positive measures to curb encroachment and protect stock routes, while others show indifference or even active opposition, particularly in Southern areas. A further concern is the transfer of portions of grazing reserves to politicians and business interests in some states – a trend with potentially damaging long-term implications and complex solutions.
Read the Grazing Reserves, Stock Routes, and Pastoral Resources in Nigeria Policy Brief
Read the full Grazing Reserves, Stock Routes, and Pastoral Resources in Nigeria Report
