Review on Cowpea Production, Utilization and Research Achievements in Ethiopia

Cowpea is one of the most important food and forage legumes in the semi-arid tropics that include parts of Asia, Africa, Southern Europe, Southern United States, and Central and South America. Besides its important, little is known about its research achievement, importance, production system and distribution in Ethiopia. Therefore the aim of this paper was to review cowpea production, utilization and research achievements in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia cowpea is primarily produced for human food, livestock fodder, medicinal purpose, and income provision to households. Cowpea production is practiced under different cropping systems including intercropping, mixed cropping and sole cropping system. However its production and productivity is low due to limited attention by research and varieties development, severe attacks of pest/insect, disease, improved varieties, low soil fertility, drought/water scarcity, poor management practices and low level knowledge of smallholder farmers about cowpea production. In Ethiopia the evidence of cowpea production and productivity is small but,over the last decades, several research activities have been conducted on cowpea improvement for bean seed yield and biomass. The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), in collaboration with other national and international research institutions, has been making highest efforts to contribute to the cowpea development in the country for the last fifty years. To date, 15 cowpea varieties have been released by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), and Regional research Institutes which has high biomass and grain yield. The breeding and genetics research in the future should be focus on development of varieties resistant against multiple constraints, its agronomy, forage physiology, crop protection, and demonstration and to decentralize cowpea maintenance program based on their recommendation program.