Food insecurity remains a serious problem in Nigeria, where communal conflict is a major driver in the Middle Belt. This study examined communal conflicts and household food security in Toto Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, from 2012 to 2023, using a documentary research design based on secondary sources such as NASEMA and NADP reports, nutrition surveillance data, and academic literature, analysed through qualitative content analysis. It asked how communal conflict, particularly the Egbira–Bassa clashes and farmer–herder disputes, has affected agricultural production and food security in Toto LGA, and how it has driven displacement and asset loss among rural households. NASEMA recorded 147 high-impact communal conflicts in Nasarawa State between 2012 and 2023, displacing over 185,000 people statewide; in Toto LGA alone, 214 farming communities were destroyed and about 16,400 people displaced between 2018 and 2023. NADP data show declines of 28.3% and 64.7% in yam and maize cultivation area respectively between 2019 and 2022, alongside a 64.7% rise in the farm-gate price of maize, while only six of eleven surveyed markets remained operational in 2023 due to insecurity on rural roads. A 2022 nutrition survey recorded a global acute malnutrition prevalence of 11.4%, above the WHO's 10% emergency threshold. Viewed through Human Security Theory, the evidence shows that recurrent violence has undermined production, displaced households, and weakened food availability, access, utilisation, and stability across Toto LGA. The study recommends strengthened conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms, community policing with traditional institutions, and livelihood-restoration programmes for affected households.
Keywords: Communal Conflict; Displacement; Food Security; Nasarawa State; Toto LGA