Leafy Vegetables under Shade? Performance, Consumer Acceptance, and Nutritional Contribution of Cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) Leaves in the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in Southwest Ethiopia

Simone Kathrin Kriesemer, Gudrun Barbara Keding, Admassu Tesso Huluka and Jochen Dürr
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Simone Kathrin Kriesemer: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Gudrun Barbara Keding: Department of Crop Sciences, Division of Quality of Plant Products, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
Admassu Tesso Huluka: Department of Public & Social Protection Management, College of Finance, Management and Development, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa 5648, Ethiopia
Jochen Dürr: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: In rural Ethiopia, people consume mainly cereals and pulses. Integrating vegetables into the multi-storey cropping system of the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve could improve nutritional health while reducing pressure on natural habitats in the biodiversity hotspot. The aim of the study was to assess the performance of cowpea under shade and its consumer acceptance as leafy vegetables. Trials compared continuous harvesting with uprooting, and food preference was tested. A baseline survey was conducted in four villages and revealed that cropping of vegetables in coffee plantations would be adoptable by 17% of farmers. The cumulatively harvested mean leaf yield (18.15 t ha −1 ) was significantly higher than the leaf yield of the uprooted cowpea (6.56 t ha −1 ). As many as 41% (52%) of participants liked cowpea dishes (very much). Based on the trial yields and the RDA, a 25 m 2 cowpea plot could produce sufficient vitamin A for 2.1–4.6 adults, iron for 0.8–1.7, and vitamin C for 1.3–2.9 adults during six months. Cowpea was successfully cultivated below coffee, yielded most when repeatedly harvested and showed a high acceptance among consumers. The consumption of cowpea leaves from coffee forests could contribute to a balanced diet and improved nutrition.

Keywords: cooking demonstrations; cowpea leaves; harvesting regime; nutritional yield; vegetable consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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