Internally displaced people (IDP) in northeast Nigeria need to be given alternative livelihoods, such as agroforestry, if they are to return to their homes, says an article in Premium Times.

Charles Reith, professor of environmental sciences with the American University of Nigeria, says allowing IDPs to return to their homes without tackling desertification would set the stage for continued conflict, both by terrorists and between herders and farmers.

He says climate change, desertification and resource scarcity are important drivers of conflict and violence. In the northeast of Nigeria, desertification has impacted the area for generations.

Reith advocates for alternatives to cropping that expose the soil to erosion, such as agroforestry to “push back desertification” and fruit-bearing trees interspersed with crops to “restore the soil, provide year-round food, and create products to sell for…