Level of Participation of Women in Cowpea Production in Wammako Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is one of the most important staple food crops in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria. Cowpea remains one of the cheapest sources of protein in the diet of many Nigerians with protein content of 25%, in addition to its several mineral and vitamins contents [1]. Almost all parts of cowpea are useful for human consumption and as livestock feed making it one of the most important economic crops in the tropics. The crop tolerates drought. It is adapted to the tropics with temperatures between 28 0 C and 30 0 C and rainfall between 500 and 1200 mm per annum. The crop performs well in a wide variety of soils but performs better on well drained sandy loam to clay loamy soils with pH between six and seven. Similarly, the bacteria in the root nodules contribute to soil fertility through fixation of nitrogen in the soil and production of organic matter. As such, cowpea is broadly cultivated around the world [2]. Nigeria, with an estimated annual production of 2.17 million tons, is the highest producer of cowpea in the world [3]. The northern region of Nigeria produces about 1.7 million tons from about 4 million hectares, which represents over 60% of total national production [3]. Despite the increase in production of cowpea in Nigeria over the years as a result of increase in cultivation, the overall productivity is still very low [2]. The problem of this low productivity has been found to result from the use of local varieties of the crop, poor management practices, lack of sufficient inputs, inefficient extension services and lack of or inadequate use of modern technologies [2,4]. Hence, there is