Abstract

Abudulai M., Etwire P. M. , Wiredu A. N. , Baributsa D. and Lowenberg-DeBoer J.

Cowpea grain is attacked by the storage weevil Callasobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Cuculionidae) and can cause 100% grain loss in poor storage. A survey of cowpea storage practices was conducted in 2011 in the major cowpea growing areas of Ghana, viz. Northern, Upper East, Upper West and the northern fringes of the Brong Ahafo Regions. The objective was to identify practices and technologies used by farmers to store cowpea as well as document the factors that influence such choices. A total of 320 cowpea producing households from 32 communities were surveyed using semi-structured questionnaires. Data also were collected through desk studies. Results showed that storing with ash and storing in single bags (traditional technologies), and storing in double bags, triple bags, drums and with insecticides (improved technologies) were the cowpea storage technologies used by farmers. Cowpea storage with insecticides was reported by 47% of the respondents and was the most popularly known technology among farmers, followed by the ash technology (24%), single bag technology (20%), double and triple bagging (7%) and the drum technology (2%). The double and triple bag technologies were more popular among farmers in the Northern and Upper West Regions. The ash technology was popular in the Upper East while farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region stored cowpea mainly with insecticides. Sole cowpea cropping was significantly dominant among farmers who have adopted improved cowpea storage technologies (88%) compared with those using traditional storage technologies (77%). Also, membership of a farmer based organization positively influenced farmers adoption of improved storage technologies. These findings have implications for the dissemination of improved cowpea technologies in Ghana.