SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COWPEA-BASED CONSUMERS IN WESTERN ZONE OF BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the socio-economic characteristics of cowpea-based consumers in Western zone of Bauchi State, Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling technique was employed in the selection of 210 households for this study. Data were collected using questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The results revealed that majority (82.9%) of the households were males with a mean age of 42years. The result also showed that 79.5% and 42.9% were married and had tertiary education, respectively. The findings revealed a mean household size and mean income of 10 persons and ₦35,485.71, respectively. Furthermore, the result showed that 34.3% of households consumed cowpea daily, 31.9% and 12.8% consumed cowpea twice a week and thrice a week, respectively. The major constraints to cowpea consumption include high cost of cowpea (97.1%), insect infestation (81.4%) and abdominal discomfort (70.0%) among others. The study recommended that government should create an enabling environment to make the prices of food items most especially cowpea reasonable and affordable by creating a favourable policies on price to tackle the menace of price fluctuations and Cowpea farmers should be encouraged to use improved cowpea varieties that are resistant to insect attacks so as reduce the damaged done by insects.