Abstract
BackgroundLow plant density and wide intra-plant spacing in traditional cowpea cropping systems are among the factors responsible for low yield on farmers’ fields. Sole cropping and improved intercropping systems have been advocated in the last few years to increase yield in the dry savannah areas of Nigeria. This study investigated the level of adoption of high yielding cowpea cropping systems including factors that influenced their use and farmers’ perceived production constraints and preferences. A total of 420 farmers across 36 villages of northern Nigeria were interviewed, and data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics to appraise farmers predominant cowpea cropping systems and factors that determine the use of sole versus intercropping were identified with the aid of binary logit regression. Furthermore, pairwise comparison ranking was deployed to understand farmers’ view of cowpea production constraints and preferred traits.ResultsThe results revealed that, many of the farmers (42%) still grow cowpeas in the traditional intercropping and a good number (25%) cultivate the crop as a sole crop, while 23% had fields of cowpeas in both sole and intercropping systems. Farmers reported the incidence of high insect pests, limited access to land, desire to have multiple benefits, and assurance in the event of crop failure as reasons for preference for intercropping over sole planting. The pairwise comparison ranking of constraints and preferences revealed insect pests, Striga, drought and poor access to fertilizers as major constraints to increased productivity. Many farmers indicated high yield as the most preferred trait.ConclusionsFindings indicate a need for increased education and training of cowpea farmers on the importance of growing cowpeas in sole cropping and or improved intercropping systems. Genetic improvement efforts should focus on developing cowpea varieties that address farmers production constraints and reflect the diversity of consumers’ preferences for the crop. Hence, breeding for resistance to insect pests and high yield is recommended as an important priority of cowpea breeding programmes in the region.
Highlights
Low plant density and wide intra-plant spacing in traditional cowpea cropping systems are among the factors responsible for low yield on farmers’ fields
The chosen areas are among major cowpea producing areas in Nigeria and have been the primary focus of outreach efforts by the Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) (Kano-station) and the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR)/Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria (ABU) Zaria for the past few decades (Boukar et al 2018; Langyintuo et al 2003; USAID 2015)
Women in northern Nigerian societies are mainly involved in post-harvest operations like threshing and winnowing (Rahman 2008)
Summary
Low plant density and wide intra-plant spacing in traditional cowpea cropping systems are among the factors responsible for low yield on farmers’ fields. The compositional profiles of cowpeas can help in attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) of eradicating all forms of hunger, malnutrition and reducing child stunting Given that it is one of the first crops to be harvested before most cereal crops are ready, cowpea plays an important role in providing early food at the end of the "hungry time", which can occur especially in the Sahel areas before the main harvests of pearl millet, sorghum, and dry grains of traditional varieties of cowpeas and peanuts, when food reserves from the previous years harvest may become depleted around September/October (Ehlers and Hall 1997; Gómez 2004; Illumina 2014). In Nigeria and most areas of SSA, the cultivation is largely under rainfed conditions (Olufajo and Singh 2002; Hall et al 2003) with little off-season cultivation under intercrop with major cereals using limited to no inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers and chemicals (Mohammed et al 2020; Ewansiha et al 2014; Singh and Ajeigbe 2007)
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