ABSTRACT

Cowpea is an important food crop which gives variety to diet as well as contributing proteins, carbohydrates and other valuable nutrients. It is mostly grown by small-scale farmers as a mixed crop with cereals, especially in the Guinea savanna ecological zone of Nigeria. Intercropping is considered to be one of the major factors contributing to cowpea low production, but most farmers still prefer to continue practising it. Low production of cowpea is also attributed to insect pests which often affect the plant throughout its life cycle. Cowpea growers have for long recognised the usefulness of conventional insecticides, but factors such as availability and cost have kept this technology beyond their reach. Insecticides from Neem leaves are safe, readily available and could bring better crop yields. The study evaluated cowpea production under both indigenous and improved practices to ascertain their economic profitability, technical feasibility and social acceptability. Thirty farmers were purposively selected from two farming villages in the Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria for the study. The results indicate that cowpea/millet mixture was the most profitable enterprise. It provided the highest yield of cowpea (308kg/ha) when compare with other cropping systems. The gross margin obtained from the cowpea/millet mixture was N5966/ha. The net farm income for the use of Neem leaf extracts to control insect pests on cowpea was N4079/ha and for the conventional insecticides was N6069/ha. About 50% of the farmers believed that they can increase their crop yields and net incomes with the use of Neem leaf extracts.