The economics of cowpea in West Africa

The contribution of cowpea to food security and poverty reduction can be substantial in West Africa if both biological and socioeconomic constraints are addressed. While some attention has been given to genetics, agronomy, and pest control, such economic issues as access to input, marketing, and con...

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Main Authors: Coulibaly, O., Lowenberg-Deboer, J.
Format: Conference Paper
Language:Inglés
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99989
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author Coulibaly, O.
Lowenberg-Deboer, J.
author_browse Coulibaly, O.
Lowenberg-Deboer, J.
author_facet Coulibaly, O.
Lowenberg-Deboer, J.
author_sort Coulibaly, O.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The contribution of cowpea to food security and poverty reduction can be substantial in West Africa if both biological and socioeconomic constraints are addressed. While some attention has been given to genetics, agronomy, and pest control, such economic issues as access to input, marketing, and consumer preferences are key research areas which contribute to the adoption and wide diffusion of improved cowpea technologies among small farmers. An area neglected in cowpea research but which is becoming important is consumer appreciation of improved cowpea grain. Results from the hedonic pricing analysis showed, for example, that consumers prefer larger grain size and seeds with low level of bruchid damage. Another area which needs to be investigated is the financial and economic profitability of chemical-intensive cowpea technologies. Cowpea is very sensitive to pests and chemical protection of the crop is financially profitable. However, this financial profitability may substantially decrease if hidden costs, such as the opportunity costs of capital, health hazards, and environmental costs are taken into consideration. This calls for the adoption of more environmentally sound and health con scious crop protection techniques such as the use of botanicals and an integrated pest management approach for cowpea research. The study also reviews the economic impact of cowpea research and concludes that the integration of biological and social science in cowpea research will lead to sustainable technology development for food security and poverty reduction.
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spelling CGSpace999892023-06-08T21:25:07Z The economics of cowpea in West Africa Coulibaly, O. Lowenberg-Deboer, J. cowpeas grain marketing pesticides drought The contribution of cowpea to food security and poverty reduction can be substantial in West Africa if both biological and socioeconomic constraints are addressed. While some attention has been given to genetics, agronomy, and pest control, such economic issues as access to input, marketing, and consumer preferences are key research areas which contribute to the adoption and wide diffusion of improved cowpea technologies among small farmers. An area neglected in cowpea research but which is becoming important is consumer appreciation of improved cowpea grain. Results from the hedonic pricing analysis showed, for example, that consumers prefer larger grain size and seeds with low level of bruchid damage. Another area which needs to be investigated is the financial and economic profitability of chemical-intensive cowpea technologies. Cowpea is very sensitive to pests and chemical protection of the crop is financially profitable. However, this financial profitability may substantially decrease if hidden costs, such as the opportunity costs of capital, health hazards, and environmental costs are taken into consideration. This calls for the adoption of more environmentally sound and health con scious crop protection techniques such as the use of botanicals and an integrated pest management approach for cowpea research. The study also reviews the economic impact of cowpea research and concludes that the integration of biological and social science in cowpea research will lead to sustainable technology development for food security and poverty reduction. 2002 2019-03-03T05:54:32Z 2019-03-03T05:54:32Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99989 en Limited Access application/pdf Coulibaly, O. & Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. (2002). The economics of cowpea in West Africa. In C.A. Fatokun, S.A. Tarawali, B.B. Singh, P.M. Kormawa and M. Tamo, Challenges and opportunities for enhancing sustainable cowpea production. Proceedings of the World Cowpea Conference III held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, 4–8 September 2000. Ibadan, Nigeria: IITA. (p. 351-366).
spellingShingle cowpeas
grain
marketing
pesticides
drought
Coulibaly, O.
Lowenberg-Deboer, J.
The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title_full The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title_fullStr The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title_full_unstemmed The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title_short The economics of cowpea in West Africa
title_sort economics of cowpea in west africa
topic cowpeas
grain
marketing
pesticides
drought
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99989
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