Socio-cultural and demographic characteristics of the interviewees
The panel of interviewees comprised 156 women and 179 men, for a total of 335 people. In the different regions, on average about ten farmers were randomly selected per village – except in the Kédougou Region, where it was only possible to interview four farmers per village (Table 1).
Table 1: Number of villages and farmers surveyed per region
Regions
|
Number of villages
|
Average number of farmers
|
Total number of farmers
|
Diourbel
|
6
|
9.8
|
59
|
Fatick
|
5
|
9.6
|
48
|
Kédougou
|
5
|
3.6
|
18
|
Louga
|
6
|
9.7
|
58
|
Saint-Louis
|
6
|
10.3
|
62
|
Sédhiou
|
5
|
10.4
|
52
|
Thiès
|
4
|
9.5
|
38
|
Total
|
37
|
9
|
335
|
The average age of interviewees was 48 years, with no significant difference between the regions, except in the Sédhiou region, where the average age was lower than elsewhere (37 years). Among those interviewed, 50.8% spoke Wolof, which is the language mainly spoken in the regions of Thiès, Louga, Diourbel and Saint-Louis. The Serer, which represented 17.9% of the interviewees, are found in the Fatick, Thiès and Diourbel regions. Lastly, the Toucouleur (10.5%) and Moors (3.3%) occupy the Louga and Saint-Louis regions, while the Mandinka, Jola, Bainuk, Bedick and Manjak live in the Fatick, Kédougou and Sédhiou regions (Table 2).
Table 2: Characteristics of the farmers interviewed in each region
|
|
Regions
|
Total
|
%
|
Variables
|
Modalities
|
Th
|
Lg
|
Dl
|
Fk
|
Sd
|
Kg
|
SL
|
Age
|
<25
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
9
|
2.68
|
25-50
|
20
|
30
|
19
|
17
|
43
|
8
|
25
|
162
|
48.36
|
50-75
|
15
|
26
|
36
|
28
|
7
|
9
|
32
|
153
|
45.67
|
≥75
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
10
|
2.98
|
NA
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0.3
|
|
Total
|
38
|
58
|
59
|
48
|
52
|
18
|
62
|
335
|
100
|
|
Wolof
|
22
|
35
|
40
|
9
|
31
|
0
|
33
|
170
|
50,75
|
Ethnic group
|
Mandinka
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
20
|
5.97
|
Moor
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8
|
11
|
3.28
|
Fulani
|
0
|
10
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
23
|
6.86
|
Serer
|
15
|
1
|
13
|
31
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
60
|
17.91
|
Toucouleur
|
1
|
9
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
35
|
10.45
|
|
Other
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
16
|
4.77
|
|
Total
|
38
|
58
|
59
|
48
|
52
|
18
|
62
|
335
|
100
|
Th=Thiès; Lg=Louga; Dl=Diourbel; Fk=Fatick; Sd=Sédhiou; Kg=Kédougou; SL=Saint-Louis; NA=data not provided
Cowpea cropping systems
Twenty-four (24) different species grown with cowpea were identified in the seven regions studied. The most frequently cited species grown with cowpea were groundnut and millet, which on average are grown, respectively, by 85% and 71% of the farmers interviewed (Table 3). However, the proportion of farmers that grow groundnut or millet varies depending on the region. While 98% of farmers grow groundnut in Diourbel, the figure is only 43% in Saint-Louis. This variation is also observed for millet, which is common in Diourbel and Louga, but more unusual in Saint-Louis. Other crops are far less common than these two species, such as guinea sorrel, maize, watermelon, rice and sorghum. Their distribution also varies depending on the region. The least common species grown with cowpea (only 0.3% of farmers interviewed) are calabash (Kédougou), cucumber and melon (Saint-Louis), turnip (Thiès) and Bambara groundnut (Diourbel).
Table 3: Different species grown and their percentage in each region
Species
|
Latin name
|
Diourbel
|
Fatick
|
Kédougou
|
Louga
|
Saint-Louis
|
Sédhiou
|
Thiès
|
Total
|
Bambara nut
|
Vigna subterranea
|
1.7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.3
|
Calabash
|
Lagenaria siceraria
|
0
|
0
|
5.6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.3
|
Cassava
|
Manihot esculenta
|
0
|
0
|
27.8
|
0
|
8.1
|
13.5
|
0
|
5.1
|
Chili
|
Capsicum annuum
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1.7
|
4.8
|
3.8
|
0
|
1.8
|
Cotton
|
Gossypium spp.
|
0
|
0
|
33.3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1.8
|
Cowpea
|
Vigna unguiculata
|
100
|
95.8
|
94.4
|
100
|
98.4
|
100
|
100
|
98.8
|
Cucumber
|
Cucumis sativus
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1.6
|
0
|
0
|
0.3
|
Eggplant
|
Solanum melongena
|
1.7
|
0
|
33.3
|
0
|
3.2
|
0
|
5.3
|
3.3
|
Fonio
|
Digitaria exilis
|
0
|
0
|
33.3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1.8
|
Groundnut
|
Arachis hypogaea
|
98.3
|
95.8
|
100
|
94.8
|
43.5
|
84.6
|
94.7
|
84.8
|
Maize
|
Zea mays
|
13.6
|
29.2
|
94.4
|
5.2
|
22.6
|
55.8
|
2.6
|
25.7
|
Melon
|
Cucumis melo
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1.6
|
0
|
0
|
0.3
|
Okra
|
Abelmoschus esculentus
|
5.1
|
0
|
66.7
|
0
|
6.5
|
0
|
2.6
|
6
|
Onion
|
Allium cepa
|
0
|
0
|
5.6
|
0
|
22.6
|
0
|
5.3
|
5.1
|
Pearl millet
|
Pennisetum glaucum
|
100
|
79.2
|
44.4
|
87.9
|
24.2
|
69.2
|
84.2
|
71.3
|
Pumpkin
|
Cucurbita spp.
|
5.1
|
0
|
33.3
|
0
|
6.5
|
0
|
0
|
3.9
|
Red sorrel
|
Hibiscus sabdariffa
|
47.5
|
35.4
|
38.9
|
32.8
|
35.5
|
0
|
21.1
|
30.1
|
Rice
|
Oryza glaberrima
|
0
|
16.7
|
77.8
|
0
|
12.9
|
23.1
|
0
|
12.5
|
Sesame
|
Sesamum indicum
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
28.8
|
0
|
4.5
|
Sorghum
|
Sorghum bicolor
|
18.6
|
12.5
|
55.6
|
17.2
|
1.6
|
0
|
2.6
|
11.6
|
Sweet potato
|
Ipomoea batatas
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
12.9
|
7.7
|
0
|
3.6
|
Tomato
|
Solanum lycopersicum
|
0
|
0
|
5.6
|
0
|
6.5
|
0
|
0
|
1.5
|
Turnip
|
Brassica rapa
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2.6
|
0.3
|
Watermelon
|
Citrullus lanatus
|
3.4
|
8.3
|
0
|
20.7
|
62.9
|
5.8
|
10.5
|
19.1
|
Other
|
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3.2
|
0
|
0
|
0.6
|
The correspondence analysis shows that the regions of Thiès, Sédhiou, Louga, Fatick and Diourbel have similar cropping profiles: red sorrel, sesame and sorghum, in addition to cowpea, groundnut and pearl millet. The Saint-Louis region differs, with watermelon (grown by 62.9 % of interviewees) and onion (22.6%), melon, cucumber and tomato, whereas the Kédougou region is characterized by fonio, pearl millet and cotton, rarely grown elsewhere (Figure 2). The three main species (cowpea, groundnut and pearl millet) are not randomly distributed between the regions. However, the disparity only concerns Saint-Louis, where quite a high proportion of farmers grow cowpea compared to what was expected randomly (residual > 3), although this proportion is low for millet (residual > 2.5, X-squared = 26.949, df = 12, p-value = 0.008).
The number of species cultivated is structured according to the regions (Figure 3) and varies between three and nine species per farmer in the Thiès and Kédougou regions, respectively. On average, more than 4 species are grown per farmer in the regions of Kédougou, Saint-Louis and Sédhiou, whereas the number is between 3.5 and 4 per farmer in the regions of Louga, Diourbel and Fatick. Thiès is the region where the average number of species per farmer is the lowest (equal to 3.5) (Table 4).
Table 4: Number of species grown per region and the average ratio per farmer
Regions
|
Number of species/farmers
|
Number of farmers
|
Average number of species/farmer
|
Diourbel
|
233
|
59
|
3.95
|
Fatick
|
182
|
48
|
3.79
|
Kédougou
|
155
|
18
|
8.61
|
Louga
|
210
|
58
|
3.62
|
Saint-Louis
|
254
|
62
|
4.10
|
Sédhiou
|
208
|
52
|
4.00
|
Thiès
|
132
|
38
|
3.47
|
Using the free listing method, we established the frequency, Smith’s S index and average salience for each of the species. Groundnut and millet were the species cited the most often with cowpea. The Smith’s index was higher for these three species, with 0.682 for groundnut, 0.612 for cowpea and 0.559 for millet (Table 5). Cowpea is the third most important species in the zones visited, with a citation rank of 2.5, after groundnut (1.9) and millet (2). As expected [22], the citation rank obtained in the species free list is correlated with species frequency in a non-linear way (Figure 4).
Table 5: Frequency, mean citation rank, Smith’s index, Sutrop index and B.score for species grown with cowpea
Cited Items
|
N
|
Frequency
|
Mean rank
|
Smith’s index
|
Sutrop index
|
B. score
|
Cowpea
|
331
|
0.988
|
2.532
|
0.6122
|
0.3902
|
0.7209
|
Groundnut
|
290
|
0.866
|
1.872
|
0.6825
|
0.4624
|
0.7384
|
Pearl millet
|
245
|
0.731
|
2.012
|
0.5578
|
0.3635
|
0.6122
|
Red sorrel
|
102
|
0.304
|
4.039
|
0.1087
|
0.0754
|
0.1743
|
Maize
|
89
|
0.266
|
3.292
|
0.1487
|
0.0807
|
0.1902
|
Watermelon
|
59
|
0.176
|
3.153
|
0.0893
|
0.0559
|
0.1148
|
Rice
|
46
|
0.137
|
3.565
|
0.0788
|
0.0385
|
0.0998
|
Sorghum
|
42
|
0.125
|
4.024
|
0.0557
|
0.0312
|
0.0804
|
Okra
|
22
|
0.066
|
5.909
|
0.0223
|
0.0111
|
0.0388
|
Onion
|
20
|
0.06
|
4.6
|
0.0265
|
0.013
|
0.0382
|
Cassava
|
18
|
0.054
|
5.111
|
0.0243
|
0.0105
|
0.035
|
Sesame
|
16
|
0.048
|
4.438
|
0.0189
|
0.0108
|
0.0286
|
Pumpkin
|
14
|
0.042
|
4.571
|
0.018
|
0.0091
|
0.0255
|
Cotton
|
13
|
0.039
|
5.846
|
0.0176
|
0.0066
|
0.0253
|
Sweet potato
|
12
|
0.036
|
3.083
|
0.0248
|
0.0116
|
0.0278
|
Aubergine
|
11
|
0.033
|
6.091
|
0.0127
|
0.0054
|
0.0198
|
Fonio
|
8
|
0.024
|
6
|
0.0099
|
0.004
|
0.0145
|
Tomato
|
6
|
0.018
|
6
|
0.0055
|
0.003
|
0.0092
|
Pepper
|
6
|
0.018
|
5.833
|
0.0044
|
0.0031
|
0.0084
|
Other
|
3
|
0.009
|
4.333
|
0.0035
|
0.0021
|
0.0041
|
Melon
|
2
|
0.006
|
4.5
|
0.0036
|
0.0013
|
0.0032
|
Calabash
|
1
|
0.003
|
5
|
0.0019
|
6.00E-04
|
9.00E-04
|
Pea
|
1
|
0.003
|
7
|
0.0014
|
4.00E-04
|
6.00E-04
|
Cucumber
|
1
|
0.003
|
6
|
0.0013
|
5.00E-04
|
6.00E-04
|
B groundnut
|
1
|
0.003
|
5
|
6.00E-04
|
6.00E-04
|
0
|
Salad
|
1
|
0.003
|
6
|
5.00E-04
|
5.00E-04
|
0
|
Turnip
|
1
|
0.003
|
8
|
4.00E-04
|
4.00E-04
|
0
|
Collection and local nomenclature of cowpea varieties
During the survey, 702 cowpea accessions were collected in Thiès (84), Louga (155), Diourbel (158), Fatick (85), Saint-Louis (122), Kédougou (19) and Sédhiou (79) [27]. One to seven accessions were collected per farmer, with an average of two accessions per farmer. These accessions were identified under 59 different local names. The informal interviews with farmers showed that, irrespective of their ethnic group, farmers translated "niébé", the French word for cowpea, into the local language to name the species Vigna unguiculata var. unguiculata. In this way, the terms "Niébé" or "Seupe" are used by the Wolof and Halpulaar (Fula and Toucouleur), "Sosso" is used by the Mandinka, "Niao" by the Serer, "Deulleugane" by the Moors and "Oufithion" by the Manjak.
A wide range of reasons is used by the farmers to identify their cowpea varieties. Indeed, 75% of names make reference to morphology (seed color and size or vegetative cycle), 14% are named after a person (the person who brought the variety to the village, a woman’s name if the variety is productive, etc.), 1% refer to the geographic origin (the zone they came from). Lastly, 9% have names that refer to a specific event (details not provided here) or are arbitrary (Table 6).
Table 6: Percentage of name categories for cowpea
Region
|
Morphology %
|
Person’s name
%
|
Zone of origin
%
|
Other
%
|
Total %
|
|
Color
|
Vegetative Cycle
|
Color/Size
|
Thiès
|
61
|
5
|
1
|
30
|
|
3
|
100
|
Louga
|
46
|
3
|
6
|
21
|
2
|
22
|
Diourbel
|
73
|
|
4
|
16
|
|
7
|
Fatick
|
62
|
|
9
|
22
|
|
7
|
Sédhiou
|
96
|
3
|
|
1
|
|
|
Kédougou
|
95
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
Saint-Louis
|
47
|
12
|
4
|
10
|
5
|
22
|
% Average
|
68.57
|
3.28
|
3.43
|
14.28
|
1
|
9.43
|
100
|
Most of the time, the names of varieties are composed of a generic name for cowpea in the local language plus a second term, which either refers to simple morphological characteristics (seed color), people’s names or zone of origin. Among the Mandinka, for example, cowpea is known by the generic name “Sosso”. In order to identify red cowpea, farmers add the suffix “wouléroung” (red) to the name “Sosso” . In all the regions visited, the names generally referred to morphology, particularly seed color (for example, “niebe bou wekh” or white cowpea). Sometimes seed size is added (for example, “niebe bou wekh bou didji” or white cowpea with large seeds). Some cowpea names are associated with the seeds’ geographic origin (Fouta cowpea) or a person (Baye Ngagne, Mame Fama, Marame Penda). In Senegal, the GOANA agriculture programme, launched in 2008 by the former President of the Republic, Abdoulaye Wade, coincided with the introduction of a cowpea variety that is now called after the programme. The Goana variety is sometimes called "pea" (because the shape of the seed is quite round or full) or "nenou naat", which means "guinea fowl’s egg", in reference to the marks on the seed’s integument (Table 7).
After standardising the spelling and identifying the synonyms, 36 names of varieties were kept. Irrespective of the ethnic group, the cowpea varieties called white cowpea (26% of all the varieties in the collection), red cowpea (25%), black cowpea (15%) and Baye Ngagne (9%) are the most commonly grown in Senegal.
Table 7: Local names, English translation and historical references
Different Local Names
|
Meaning
|
Historical references
|
Baye Ngagne
|
Baye Ngagne or black cowpea
|
A person’s name
|
Delleugane Labial
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Delleugane Leukhmare
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Fithionouny oufithial
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Gouana
|
Goana
|
Refer to the agricultural programme GOANA
|
Hectare
|
Hectare
|
The seed’s pleasing appearance
|
Mame Fama
|
Mame Fama
|
A person’s name
|
Marame Penda
|
Marame Penda
|
A person’s name
|
Melakh
|
Melakh = Flash
|
The variety’s early maturing cycle
|
Mosse kham
|
Taste to know
|
The taste
|
Ndao counda
|
Ndao counda
|
A person’s name
|
Ndiaga aw
|
Ndiaga aw
|
A person’s name
|
Ndiaye wekh
|
White Ndiaye
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Ndieussiw
|
Ndieussiw
|
The capacity to produce fodder
|
Nenou Naat
|
Guinea fowl’s egg
|
The color of the seed’s integument, which has brown speckles
|
Niao balne
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niao ndane
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bou wekh
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe baledjo
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bodedjo
|
Red cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bodedjo-baledjo
|
Black-white cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bou khonk
|
Red cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bou khonk bou didji
|
Red cowpea with big seeds
|
The seed’s size and color
|
Niebe bou khonk bou sew
|
Red cowpea with small seeds
|
The seed’s size and color
|
Niebe bou nioul
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bou wekh
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe bou wekh bou didj
|
White cowpea with big seeds
|
The seed’s size and color
|
Niebe bou wekh bou sew
|
White cowpea with small seeds
|
The seed’s size and color
|
Niebe danedjo
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Niebe fouta
|
Fouta cowpea
|
Originally from Fouta and mainly used for
floodplain cultivation
|
Niebe Kell
|
Kell cowpea
|
|
Niebe Koudioule
|
|
|
Niebe Mame Diarra
|
Mame Diarra cowpea
|
A person’s name
|
Niebe poude
|
Greyish cowpea
|
The seed’s faded color
|
Niebe poury
|
Greyish cowpea
|
The seed’s faded color
|
Oufithion otopeul
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Oufithion oudjankfan
|
Red cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Pakau
|
Pakau
|
|
Petit pois
|
Pea
|
The seed’s roundish shape
|
Samba sagnal
|
|
A person’s name
|
Saneba sosso
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Seupe bou khonk
|
Red cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Seupe bou wekh
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Sosso fima
|
|
|
Sosso fing
|
Black cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Sosso Khoyo
|
|
|
Sosso koyma
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Sosso meunie
|
White cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Sosso meunie maynama
|
Late white cowpea
|
The seed’s size and color
|
Sosso missew
|
|
|
Sosso resse mesengo
|
|
|
Sosso wouleroung
|
Pale red cowpea
|
The color of the seed’s integument
|
Tachet
|
Spotted
|
The color of the seed’s integument, which is brown spotted
|
Tamate awo
|
First wives’ tomato
|
The seed’s red color means that less tomato paste
is used to prepare rice-based dishes
|
Walette
|
Early
|
The seed’s early maturity
|
Walette bou nioul
|
Black Early
|
The seed’s early maturity and color
|
Walette bou wekh
|
White Early
|
The seed’s early maturity and color
|
Yacine
|
Yacine
|
|
Yakhoul tamate
|
That wastes no tomatoes
|
The seed’s red color means that less tomato paste
is used to prepare dishes
|
The zone in the north and centre of the groundnut producing area has the greatest diversity (Louga and Diourbel), whereas Kédougou has the fewest varieties. Cowpea production is more diversified in the regions of Diourbel and Louga, followed by Thiès, Saint-Louis and Sédhiou, respectively (Figure 5).
The average number of cowpea varieties per farmer varies between 1 (Kédougou) and 3 (Diourbel and Louga) (Table 8). The Diourbel and Louga regions are also where there is greater linguistic diversity among interviewed farmers. Therefore, the possible link between cowpea diversity and the farmers’ cultural diversity cannot be ruled out.
Table 8: Number of varieties per farmer for each region
Regions
|
No. farmers
|
No. var/region
|
No. var/farmer
|
Diourbel
|
59
|
158
|
2.678
|
Fatick
|
48
|
85
|
1.771
|
Kédougou
|
18
|
19
|
1.056
|
Louga
|
58
|
155
|
2.672
|
Saint-Louis
|
62
|
122
|
1.968
|
Sédhiou
|
52
|
79
|
1.519
|
Thiès
|
38
|
84
|
2.211
|
Cropping systems and acquiring seeds
Cropping systems
The majority of the farmers interviewed grow cowpea as a single crop (65%). This method of cultivating cowpea is far more frequent in four regions in Senegal, namely, Louga, Diourbel, Kédougou and Saint-Louis. Groundnut is the species most commonly associated with cowpea. This association was described for 28% of the farmers surveyed, especially in the regions of Thiès, Fatick, Sédhiou and Diourbel. Cowpea is also associated with maize (3%) in the Saint-Louis region, millet (0.3%) in the Kédougou region and market gardening (0.85%) in the regions of Louga, Saint-Louis and Kédougou (Table 9).
Table 9: Cowpea crop associations according to region
Methods
|
Regions
|
Total
|
Percentage%
|
Th
|
Lg
|
Dl
|
Fk
|
Sd
|
Kg
|
SL
|
Associated with groundnut
|
42
|
6
|
35
|
49
|
55
|
1
|
9
|
197
|
28
|
Associated with market gardening
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
0.85
|
Associated with maize
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
20
|
22
|
3
|
Associated with millet
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0.3
|
Single crop
|
35
|
145
|
117
|
32
|
24
|
13
|
91
|
457
|
65
|
Single crop associated with groundnut
|
7
|
1
|
6
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
18
|
2.6
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100
|
Th=Thiès; Lg=Louga; Dl=Diourbel; Fk=Fatick; Sd=Sédhiou; Kg=Kédougou; SL=Saint-Louis
In the regions of Thiès, Fatick, Diourbel, Kédougou and Sédhiou cowpea is grown in the winter season. In general, sowing is in June and July (53.42%) and harvesting is in September and October (93.44%). In the Louga region and part of the Saint-Louis and Diourbel regions, sowing is in August and September (42.60%) and harvesting is in November. Floodplain cultivation of cowpea is only found in the Saint-Louis region (3.99%). For this type of production, sowing is between November and January and harvesting is between February and March.
There are three groups of cowpea varieties grown in Senegal that can be distinguished according to their development cycle: early (number of days <70), semi-early (between 70 and 90 days) or late (number of days ≥90). The early varieties represent 81.34% of the varieties grown. They are found in all regions, except Kédougou. Semi-early varieties (3.84%) are grown in Louga and Diourbel. Lastly, late varieties (14.67%) are generally grown in the regions of Kédougou, Thiès and Saint-Louis (Table 10).
Table 10: Cropping calendar and cycle of accessions in each region
Features
|
Conditions
|
Regions
|
Total
|
%
|
Chi-Square
|
Th
|
Lg
|
Dl
|
Fk
|
Sd
|
Kg
|
SL
|
Value
|
df
|
P-Value
|
Sowing date
|
June-July
|
83
|
34
|
103
|
81
|
63
|
11
|
0
|
375
|
53.42
|
455.5a
|
12
|
<0.001
|
Aug-Sept
|
1
|
121
|
55
|
4
|
16
|
8
|
94
|
299
|
42.60
|
|
|
|
Nov-Jan
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
28
|
28
|
3.99
|
|
|
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100.00
|
|
|
|
Harvest date
|
Sept-Oct
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
84
|
79
|
10
|
86
|
656
|
93.44
|
302.6a
|
18
|
<0.001
|
Nov
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8
|
8
|
16
|
2.28
|
|
|
|
Feb-March
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
28
|
29
|
4.13
|
|
|
|
DNR
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0.14
|
|
|
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100.00
|
|
|
|
Cycle
|
<70
|
45
|
133
|
148
|
81
|
79
|
3
|
82
|
571
|
81.34
|
251.955a
|
18
|
<0.001
|
70-90
|
0
|
16
|
7
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
27
|
3.84
|
|
|
|
≥90
|
39
|
6
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
15
|
39
|
103
|
14.67
|
|
|
|
DNR
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0.14
|
|
|
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100.00
|
|
|
|
The p. value of the chi2 test for the sowing dates, harvest dates and length of cycle is below 0.001. The hypothesis of the independence between these variables and the regions has been rejected as a result. Th=Thiès; Lg=Louga; Dl=Diourbel; Fk=Fatick; Sd=Sédhiou; Kg=Kédougou; SL=Saint-Louis; MS=sowing date; MR=harvest date; June-July=June and July; Aug-Sept=August and September; Nov-Jan=November to January; Sept-Oct=September and October; Feb-March=February and March
How seeds are acquired
Most of the interviewees (57%) stated that they obtained their first cowpea seeds at markets or from seed suppliers, NGOs, cooperatives or farmer organizations outside the village. Forty-two percent (42%) obtained them from relatives or neighbours in the village. How seeds are acquired varies depending on the region (Table 11). Eighty-one percent (81%) of interviewees stated that they acquired their first seeds in the last two decades, compared to only 11%, who obtained their seeds more than 25 years ago. More than 6% of interviewees cannot remember the year when they acquired their seeds. The majority (68%) of seeds from the last season were home-grown (Table 11).
Table 11: Where seeds were acquired
Nature
|
Conditions
|
Regions
|
Total
|
%
|
Th
|
Lg
|
Dl
|
Fk
|
Sd
|
Kg
|
SL
|
Place where first acquired
|
Outside the village
|
43
|
95
|
68
|
60
|
48
|
0
|
85
|
399
|
57
|
Village
|
41
|
57
|
86
|
25
|
31
|
18
|
37
|
295
|
42
|
DNR
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100
|
Year when first acquired
|
˂25
|
66
|
122
|
106
|
73
|
79
|
13
|
115
|
574
|
81
|
˃25
|
4
|
13
|
42
|
9
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
80
|
11.4
|
DNR
|
14
|
20
|
10
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
47
|
6.7
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100
|
Home-produced
|
N
|
27
|
52
|
35
|
21
|
16
|
5
|
62
|
218
|
31
|
O
|
57
|
103
|
123
|
64
|
63
|
14
|
59
|
483
|
68
|
DNR
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0.14
|
Total
|
84
|
155
|
158
|
85
|
79
|
19
|
122
|
702
|
100
|
Th=Thiès; Lg=Louga; Dl=Diourbel; Fk=Fatick; Sd=Sédhiou; Kg=Kédougou; SL=Saint-Louis