Farmers' knowledge, perception, and use of phosphorus fertilization for cowpea production in Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria

Saba B Mohammed; Ishiyaku F Mohammad; Tongoona B Pangirayi; Gracen Vernon; Daniel K Dzidzienyo; Muhammad L Umar; Sulaiman Umar

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05207

Farmers' knowledge, perception, and use of phosphorus fertilization for cowpea production in Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria

Heliyon. 2020 Oct 17;6(10):e05207. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05207. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Authors

Saba B Mohammed^{1

2}, Ishiyaku F Mohammad², Tongoona B Pangirayi¹, Gracen Vernon¹, Daniel K Dzidzienyo¹, Muhammad L Umar², Sulaiman Umar³

Affiliations

¹ West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
² Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agriculture/Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
³ Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture/Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Abstract

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an important legume crop, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Poor soil fertility is among the major abiotic factors that contribute to this crop's low yield. Phosphorus (P)-based fertilizers significantly increase cowpea yields but these fertilizers are not well adopted by smallholder cowpea farmers. To understand why, we surveyed 420 farmers across three major cowpea-producing states in Nigeria: first, we assessed the cowpea farmers' knowledge and perception of the need for fertilizers, especially P fertilizers; and, second, we identified factors that determine the use - or non-use - of P-based fertilizers. Although over 80% of farmers surveyed were aware of the value of fertilizers as a yield-increasing factor and were able to identify crops suffering from nutrient deficiency, only 10% used P-based fertilizers like single super phosphate (SSP) and another 11% used combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizers and SSP for cowpeas. Reasons for not using P-containing fertilizers included high cost, poor availability in rural markets, and lack of awareness on the need to use P fertilizers. Additionally, many growers believed that cowpeas do not require fertilizers, especially if the previous crop had been maize. Our findings are important for strategies to increase the productivity of cowpeas among smallholder growers especially in the northern regions of Nigeria and beyond, where subsistence farming systems are prevalent. Increased cowpea production through the adequate use of inputs like P fertilizers will support Nigeria's effort to reduce its large imports of cowpea grain from neighboring countries. Our survey further demonstrated that P-containing fertilizers are crucial production inputs for increased cowpea production in these regions and in areas with similar traditional farming practices. Our results will benefit breeders, development partners, extension personnel, and other stakeholders in cowpea value chains.

Keywords: Adoption; Agricultural economics; Agricultural policy; Agricultural science; Agricultural soil science; Cowpea; Crop production; Field crops; Focus group discussion; Northern Nigeria; Phosphorus-based fertilizers; Plant biology; Root nodules.