Community Resilience and Post-Conflict Recovery in Rural Benue State Communities

This study analyses the community resilience factors that facilitate post-conflict recovery in rural communities affected by farmer-herder violence in Benue State, North Central Nigeria. Community resilience is increasingly recognised as a critical variable in the durability of post-conflict recovery, yet the specific resilience capacities that matter most in Nigerian rural conflict contexts remain empirically underdeveloped. Using a mixed-methods research design, quantitative data were collected from 310 rural households across 15 communities in Guma, Logo, and Agatu local government areas through a validated community resilience assessment tool. Qualitative data were obtained through focus group discussions with community recovery committees and in-depth interviews with local government development officers. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped communities by resilience profile, and logistic regression identified factors predicting successful post-conflict recovery. The theoretical framework draws from community resilience theory and the post-conflict recovery model. Findings indicate that community cohesion, access to adaptive social networks, community leadership legitimacy, and economic diversification capacity are the four strongest resilience dimensions predicting successful recovery in rural Benue communities affected by farmer-herder conflict. Communities with pre-existing cooperative agricultural structures demonstrate faster livelihood recovery timelines. Recommendations include investing in resilience-building programs tailored to identified gaps in rural Benue, supporting the formation of inter-ethnic agricultural cooperatives as dual-purpose economic and peace-building instruments, and training community leaders in resilience-based recovery facilitation. Keywords: community resilience, post-conflict recovery, Benue State, farmer-herder conflict, rural communities.