Assessment of the Psychological Impact of Herdsmen Banditry attacks on crops farmers in South-South of Nigeria

The study assessed the psychological impact of Herdsmen Banditry attacks on crop farmers in south-south of Nigeria. Two specific purposes and two corresponding research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was employed in this study. The population of the study was 26036 contact farmers and agricultural extension agents from south-south states of Nigeria, comprising of 1891 agricultural extension agents and 24145 farmers in the south – south Nigeria. The sample size of the study was 396. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled: assessment of the psychological impact of Herdsmen Banditry attacks on farmers in south-south of Nigeria Questionnaire (APIHBFQ).The instrument was validated by three experts; two experts in the Department of Technology and Vocational Education, and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation in the Department of Science Education. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha correlation coefficient which had a coefficient of 0. 82. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study showed that: trauma, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, pervasive sense of helplessness were the psychological impact of Herdsmen Banditry attacks on farmers in south-south of Nigeria; destruction of lives and obstructions of social activities were the social impact of Herdsmen Banditry attacks on farmers in south-south Nigeria. Based on findings, the researcher recommended that Government and Non-governmental Organisations in the South-South should create and fund accessible mental health services in rural areas for the traumatised farmers, Government and Non-governmental Organisations in the South-South areas should initiate and support multi-level dialogue platforms and traditional conflict mediation efforts to foster peaceful coexistence and rebuild trust between herders and farmers among others.