Nigerians today are finding it difficult to buy cowpea (beans) as prices of the commodity has soared by 48 percent year-on-year owing to the decline in output amid high consumer demand.
Cowpea which is locally called beans and botanically called ‘Vegan Unguiculata’ is an economically important legume as it serves as the cheapest means of protein for the majority of Africa’s most populous nation.
The crop which contains 25 percent protein content, several vitamins and minerals is now fast eluding the reach of most Nigerian households.
“Nigeria has not been increasing its cowpea production to meet consumer demand and that is what is responsible for the price increase,” said Shehu Abdul Rahman, professor of Agricultural Economics, Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State, who has done a lot of research on cowpea production in Nigeria.
“This is a problem for us because cowpea is the cheapest means of protein for majority of our people. Nigerians protein consumption level will be affected if the crop is no longer affordable for them. How many of us can afford to consume animal protein?
“Our cowpea production has been declining because farmers are still farming using unimproved seed varieties and old traditional methods. Our population is fast increasing while production is still static,” Rahman added.
Data from Novus Agro, a commodity price tracker in the country, shows that 100kg bag of Drum variety of the brown beans (olotu) in Mile 12 market now sells for N40,000 as against N27,000 sold in August last year. While a paint bucket sells N1,600 as against N900 same period in 2016.
In Kano, 100 kg bag the brown beans variety sells for N31, 000 as against N18, 900 sold last year August, while a tier of beans is sold for N775 as against N470 sold in August 2016.
“The demand for cowpea is very high now and the supply is lesser,” Lawan Shirama, a cowpea farmer in Bauchi State said in a telephone response to BusinessDay questions.
“Last year there was drought spell and that affected production of cowpea because farmers could not harvest their produce in some of the areas planted. This affected our production and now the price,” Shirama said.
Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of cowpea globally, accounting for 61 percent of Africa’s production and 58 percent of global production, according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
Available data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) show that Nigeria’s cowpea production has been on the decline since 2012 from 5.1 million metric tons to 2.1 million in 2014.
Experts have also attributed the decline in production to the insurgency in the northern parts of the country where the crop is majorly grown as some of the farmers in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have abandoned farming the crop and flee to places of safety.
“The insurgency in the northern parts of the country is also a major problem responsible for our decline in production. A lot of farmers are yet to return to farming beans,” said Ayo Balogun, country manager, AFEX Commodity in a telephone interview.
The crop is grown mainly by small-scale farmers in Nigeria and it is majorly grown in Borno, Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Gombe and Yobe along other crops as it tolerates shade.
“Inputs alone has gone up by more than 250 percent and the cost of transportation is also very high,” Victor Iyama, president, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) told BusinessDay.
“Farmers have reduced their farming areas as a result of this,” Iyama added.
Cowpea performs well in a wide variety of soils, and being a legume, it replenishes low fertility soils when the roots are left to decay.
According to experts, Nigeria can increase its cowpea production through the provision of improved seed variety for farmers.
“We need to start conducting research to make sufficient improved cowpea varieties for farmers to increase our yield per hectare. Also, our research institutes have to come up with technologies that will improve storage facilities for farmers,” said Rahman who was earlier quoted.
“We need to also address the issue of pest and diseases affecting the crop,” the professor added.
Josephine Okojie
