Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) simply identified as beans in Nigeria is one of the most ancient food source in the world and has Nigeria as the highest producers and consumers of cowpea in the world.
As Nigerian population continues to grow, there is continuous consumption of cowpea so why not use this opportunity to unleash a financial boom in your life as an entrepreneur. Despite the tremendous nutritional value cowpea has, it is relatively a cheap form of protein for the everyone.
Cowpea can also be used as cover crops and tends to improve the soil in terms of the soil structure by adding nitrogen to the soil.
Cowpea grains can be consumed as meals and sometimes they are combined with other cooked meals like rice, yam, plantain etc. It can also be prepared as cowpea cake, pudding, porridge etc. As you can see cowpea will always remain relevant as far as food is concerned in the world.
Now let me tell you some important facts about cowpea you probably don't know.
Cowpea comes in different varieties such as clay types, cream, Crowder peas, white acre, brown eyed peas and black eyed peas. Cowpea can survive in areas where there is low moisture/water content which makes it tolerant to drought but requires enough moisture for effective germination; a rainfall amount of about 700mm per year will do.
Cowpea is propagated asexually i.e by seed and possess different growth forms (it maybe brushy, trailing, climbing or erect).
Being an annual crop, it is best grown during summer with optimum temperature for growth and development to be between 20-30 degree celsius.
Most suitable soil for cowpea propagation is the sandy soil with soil pH of 5.6-6.0.
Steps in starting your own cowpea farming business
Look for a fertile land
First you would have to acquire a fertile piece of Land of at least one hectare depending on the amount you plan to put into the business. Make sure all necessary tests are carried out to ensure that the land is fertile and as I have said earlier sandy soil is recommended but a good sandy loam soil would do.
Purchase good seeds
Any variety of cowpea you choose to buy is acceptable so far it is healthy, fine, not broken and more importantly the seeds must be of equal sizes. It ensures uniform growth.
Carry out pre-planting and planting operations
Land preparation
The land should be properly cleared and the first removed. Then you should ensure to spray herbicides so as to prevent weed emergence.
The land should then be ploughed together with ridging. The soil should be well tilled and also grounded till it becomes smooth and in powdered form. It makes it suitable for root growth.
Planting seeds
Cowpea can then be planted 4cm deep into the soil with atleast four seeds per hole. Research has shown that seeds should be planted within the periods of April, late July or mid August.
Fertilizer application
Add fertilizers to improve soil fertility thereby increasing crop yeild. Cowpea begins to sprout in less than two weeks and takes up to a month for the pods to be formed. Each pod can contain about 8 to 20 seeds.
This whole process is also suitable for lands that are prone to erosion.
Weed control
The land should continuously be weeded to avoid the fight for nutrients between your crops and unwanted plants.
Pest control
Cowpeas are frequently disturbed by pests like pod sucking bugs, blister beetle, pod borer, aphid, thrips, weevils etc. You should always employ quality measures in order to control this pests. Remove infested crops and burn them. You can also spray pesticides and insecticides to prevent pest infestation.
Disease control
Diseases that affect cowpeas are fungal, viral and bacterial infections. They are harmful to the crops and lead to stunted growth and low yield. Some of these diseases are root rot, stem rot, mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, damping off, scab, bacterial light etc.
Applying control measures like crop rotation, application of fungicide and herbicide, separating affected crops from unaffected ones and treatment of seeds.
Harvesting
Cowpeas are harvested when the seed's moisture content is between 14-18%. You can get a harvester to harvest your produce or better still you can use hands depending on the size of your land.
After harvesting, you should sort the seeds by separating the broken seeds from full ones and package them in sacks to be ready for sale.
For storage, place sacks into electric dryers or you can spread them on concrete slabs directly under the sun for sun drying. Ensure you maintain the moisture content of seeds at about 12% and store in well cleaned protected places using hermetic storage techniques. You can also triple bag the produce making it difficult for insects and pests to penetrate and infest the crops.
Profitability
A ton of cowpea produced per hectare of Land can be sold for about three hundred thousand naira. Imagine you have up to five to twenty hectares of land, isn't it lovely? You can either sell your produce within the country or you can decide to go into exportation since it is an important crop in the international market. In any case, you are already on your way to making your first million.
Conclusion
Cowpea production business can be labour intensive but with adequate funding from loans, personal savings etc and also adequate planning you can be able to manage your farm properly.
Cowpea farming is no doubt a lucrative business with great fortune attached to it.
Did you find this post informative? Drop your feedbacks in the comment section.
You can also share this post to your friends in social media platforms.
