Socio-Economic Constraints of Adopting New Cowpea Varieties in Three Agro-Ecological Zones in the Senegalese Peanut Basin

Assane Beye, Pape Bilal Diakhate, Omar Diouf, Aliou Faye, Augustine K. Obour (), Zachary P. Stewart, Yared Assefa (), Doohong Min and Pagadala V. V. Prasad
Additional contact information
Assane Beye: Faculty of Economics and Management (FASEG), Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Km 1, Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar BP 5005, Senegal
Pape Bilal Diakhate: Bureau d’Analyses Macroéconomiques (BAME), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), Parc de Hann, Dakar BP 3120, Senegal
Omar Diouf: Faculty of Economics and Management (FASEG), Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Km 1, Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar BP 5005, Senegal
Aliou Faye: Centre d’Etude Régional pour l’Amélioration de l’Adaptation à la Sécheresse (CERAAS), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), Thies BP 3320, Senegal
Augustine K. Obour: Agricultural Research Center-Hays, Kansas State University, Hays, KS 67601, USA
Zachary P. Stewart: Center for Agriculture-Led Growth, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
Yared Assefa: Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Doohong Min: Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Pagadala V. V. Prasad: Sustainable Intensification Innovation Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Socio-economic constraints like gender, education, age, and income significantly affect the adoption of improved agricultural technologies. The objective of this study was to determine socio-economic factors that affect the adoption of improved cowpea varieties in the Senegalese peanut basin. The study was conducted in three (Bambey, Kebemer, and Kaffrine) of six regions of the peanut basin based on regional importance of cowpea production and rainfall gradient. In each study region, ten villages were selected, and random sampling was used to select eight heads of agricultural households within each village. The questionnaires were administered to 240 randomly selected farmers across the three study regions, 7 communes, and 30 villages. Results showed most heads of households were middle-aged (52–54 years old), married (95–100%), illiterate (84%), and men (95–100%). Households were mostly agriculture dependent (87%), low literacy rates (26% least primary school), and large family sizes (average of 15 members). The median cowpea yields across the study area varied from 35–100 kg ha −1 , well below the ~300–400 kg ha −1 average yields reported for Senegal and Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of farmers (67%) in the study regions did not use improved varieties, and the main reasons were low seed availability (78.8%) and limited access to technical knowledge and information (76.3%), but only 5.8% indicated seed price as a barrier to improved variety adoption. Major uses of cowpea in the study area were for marketing, livestock feed, and human consumption. In Kaffrine, fodder production was the major (85%) criterion for cowpea variety selection, whereas in the north (Bambey and Kebemer), taste, maturity date, and grain yield were major selection criteria. Factors that had positive effect on the likelihood of using improved cowpea varieties include; access to extension services, membership in farmers’ organization, cowpea being the main crop of production, organic farming, market, and livestock-oriented production systems, access to farmland and credit, dependence on agriculture as the main source of household income, and education of head of household. We conclude that there is a critical need for training, access to improved seeds, awareness, and financial support to producers to increase the adoption of new improved cowpea varieties, yields, profitability, and nutritional security among smallholder farmers in the Senegalese peanut basin.

Keywords: characteristics of household; cowpea varieties; dryland; socio-economics; Senegal agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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