Quantifying the Scale and Scope of Nutritious Cowpea Products in Local Markets

Principal investigator/Lead institution: Dr. Veronique Theriault, Michigan State University

Collaborating institutions: Universite de Thiès, Senegal

Université des Sciences Sociales et de Gestion de Bamako, Mali

Works in: Mali, Senegal

Project overview

West Africa is the global locus of cowpea production. Across the region, cowpea products provide critical nutrients and cash income to smallholder farmers. Yet, little is known in quantitative terms about the scale and scope of cowpea products in local markets.

Market-based incentives for products other than grain, including leaves, processed and nutritious products have received less attention. Our research in Mali and Senegal seeks to close the information gap.

We will build a quantitative inventory of cowpea products supplied and demanded in local market hubs, record product, vendor, and market characteristics, and collect shopper data in lean and abundant seasons to test the effectiveness of market-based incentives on consumer behavior.

Through several conduits, we will strengthen the capacity of local partners to conduct market analyses, assess consumer demand, and implement policy research using innovative methods and tools.

woman at a market selling beans — Value-added cowpea-based products can provide more market opportunities for farmers while providing nutritious food options.

We aim to identify incentives for expanding the array of nutritious cowpea-based products sold in local markets, especially by small-scale women enterprises. More market opportunities for cowpea through value-added products would help contribute to livelihood resilience for farmers relying on cowpea as a source of income.

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