Participatory Rural Appraisal on Cowpea Production Constraints and Farmers’ Management Practices in Burkina Faso

Success of cowpea cultivation requires a strong understanding of production constraints in order to overcome them. It is thus useful to know whether smallholder cowpea growers use modern or indigenous means to overcome these challenges. We completed a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study to identify current cowpea production constraints and management practices in Burkina Faso. We interviewed 481 cowpea growers (219 women and 262 men) and used a mixed-method design of collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. The results showed that water scarcity, damage due to insects, plant diseases, striga, lack of training, and marketing challenges are the main constraints to cowpea production. Among insects reducing cowpea yield, growers identified aphids as a major pest. However, growers often did not know the biology and incidence of insects in their fields. This study also identified local resistant cowpea varieties in various locations.


Introduction
Rural African communities rely on smallholder farming as a primary source of food (World Bank, 2008). In Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural production is dominated by smallholder households, which make up around 80% of farms (FAO-OECD, 2016). In Burkina Faso, nearly 86% of the population is involved in agriculture, which accounts for 35-40% of the country's GDP (DGESS, 2018). Thus, agriculture is a key sector that contributes heavily to the country's economic growth, and identification of crop production constraints is an important step in improving productivity. It is also valuable to determine whether smallholder growers use modern or indigenous means to overcome constraints to identify what they could do to increase production.
This participatory rural appraisal (PRA) not only identified current cowpea production constraints but also ascertained farmers' solutions and requirements for better yields. Additionally, the study identified aphids as an important factor in reducing cowpea yields and investigated farmers' insect awareness and management. Finally, this PRA identified local resistant cowpea varieties in various locations. This study aimed to do the following:

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The presence of ants on cowpea plants, noticed by farmers in our study, has been confirmed by researchers. In fact, even though ants do not attack cowpeas, they may be found on several plant species among which, cowpea. Aphids and ants develop a mutualistic relationship; ants offer protection from predators and disease vectors, and, in turn, aphids produce a sugar-rich substance known as honeydew that provides ants with nutrients (Begon et al., 2011;Detrain et al., 2010). Depending on the ecological characteristics, interactions between ants and aphids may split from mutualistic to antagonistic (Stadler & Dixon, 2005;Billick et al., 2007). It is useful for cowpea growers to have at least general knowledge of diseases and pests that occur in their fields. Knowing these diseases, their causes, and the periods at which they occur will help farmers better monitor for efficient crop management. The use of any integrated pest management (IPM) method requires knowledge of the targeted insect's life history, ecology, and population dynamics, as well as knowledge about the host (Arif & Gogi, 2017;Gómez, 2004).
Cowpea growers in our study think using pesticides can control aphids even if there are some cases of resurgence. They stated that neem (Azadiratcha indica) leaves can be used to treat insects in small areas, but treatment must be started early. The treatment mixture is made from neem leaves and water. Soap can be added to the mixture to improve its adherence to plant leaves. Previous studies have confirmed that neem products (leaves, seeds, and oil) have pest control properties (Baidoo, 2012;Djinadou et al., 2009), and about 400 insect species are susceptible to neem products (Schmutterer, 1990). These products act either as antifeedant, repellent, or hormonal and growth inhibitors (Mikami & Ventura, 2008). Additionally, farmers in our study often used garlic against insects, but only in small areas. One solution farmers proposed against millipedes is to soak seeds with gasoline before sowing. Farmers believe this prevents the millipedes from perforating the seeds. However, they noticed that when plants were treated with a lot of pesticides, leaves fell off just after harvest and yet, fodder is useful for feeding livestock. Farmers also said they hesitate to feed their cattle with cowpea haulm when plants have been over sprayed with pesticides for fear of poisoning them.
To tackle issues with the means of production, farmers need a supply of agricultural equipment. There is a net crop increase when the land is plowed on time, and according to the growers, inadequate agricultural equipment compromises crop production. Research has identified lack of equipment as one of the most important obstacles in the adoption of sustainable intensification strategies (Riar et al., 2013;Theriault et al., 2017).
Opinions differ as to the best way to acquire equipment. Given the high cost of these machines, some argue for producers to join associations that jointly purchase the equipment. However, this raises other issues. Managing and maintaining equipment requires effort from each member of the association and regular consultations between members, sometimes during the rainy season, a time period when farmers prefer to work in their fields rather than attend meetings. Therefore, some farmers prefer individual equipment acquisition. In turn, these buyers offer to increase plowing capacity for the benefit of all the producers. Some smallholder producers also plead for the acquisition of animal traction plows for their crops.
Previous studies have discussed farmers' problems with input reliability, especially on the subject of pesticides. Some pesticides sold in the marketplace are unlabeled or are stored in inadequate conditions (Tankoano, 2008). Additionally, pesticides containing banned persistent organic pollutants are marketed fraudulently (Ouédraogo & Toé, 2014). Although regulatory structures exist, weak legal enforcement, inadequate quality control, stakeholders' lack of technical knowledge, and lack of organization for pesticide dealers are barriers to better pesticide control (Ouédraogo & Toé, 2014). Cowpea grains and seed producers have cited unreliability of certified seeds sold in some markets. Seed producers lament the mistrust of cowpea growers who have faced poor quality seeds or who have heard about the poor quality of certified seeds and do not want to buy them anymore.
Farmers also raised issues about marketing problems, particularly access to local markets and volatility of cowpea prices. In their 2013 study that investigated market access issues, Riar et al. showed that profitability, dictated by the market price, is an important driving force for farmers to include a crop in their farming system. Farmers think that developing other lucrative farming activities, such as livestock or poultry farming, will improve their productivity. They believe these activities will help them buy production input and make their farm more resilient.
Local sources of aphid resistance are rare. Their locations have been recorded, and a prospection would help to collect these ecotypes as additional sources of aphid resistance. The scattered distribution of these locations throughout the country suggests a great genetic variability between ecotypes.

Conclusion
This study showed the main constraints to cowpea production are currently water scarcity, damage by insect pests, the damping off of seedlings, lack of training, marketing challenges, Striga, and access to quality input. Water resources exist but initiatives developed for the use of surface water have shown their limits, especially in areas far from water points. The study also demonstrated the need to regulate the input market and reduce pesticide use by breeding crops for insect resistance. The results established that cowpea growers are aware of aphids as pests. However, they are often unfamiliar with the biology of insects occurring in their fields. Aphid-resistant cowpea varieties have been recorded in various locations, and a prospection would help to collect these ecotypes as additional sources of resistance to aphids. It would also be useful to investigate gender-based cowpea production constraints, gender-based farmers' solutions, and expectations.