Alliance for Cowpea Improvement in Africa

The Alliance for Cowpea Improvement in Africa (ACIA) is an Africa-focused community of cowpea experts. We are responding to the demands of African farmers and consumers for cowpea that is safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable. Cowpea is a delicious and nutritious food crop, one widely featured in African cuisines and widely grown on African farms. Our mission at ACIA is to ensure this versatile and resilient crop reaches its full potential to support healthy diets and sustainable, productive farms.

We bring a lot of experience in cowpea breeding to this Alliance and we have a close relationship with local farmers. In fact, many of us come from a farming background. So we know what African cowpea farmers need and they trust the varieties we produce.

Jerry Nboyine, Senior Research Scientist, Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (Ghana)

Why Cowpea?

The Do-It-All Food Crop: Delicious and Nutritious, Enriching Farmers and Farmland

For two millennia, cowpea has played a major role in African diets, cultures and economies — providing affordable protein and essential nutrients for consumers and reliable income for farmers. Visit any household in Nigeria, Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa and you are likely to find cowpeas in spicy stews or nutritious baby foods. Cowpea is also important for millions of small-scale African farmers who rely on the income they earn from cowpea production to support their families.

The Pests Eating Away Cowpea’s Potential

Unfortunately, cowpea is also extremely popular with two common insects — the cowpea “pod borer,” a caterpillar that feasts on cowpea pods in the field, and the cowpea weevil, a beetle that devours dried cowpea while in storage. Farmers can lose up to 90% of their crop to these pests and consumers can see prices skyrocket. The immediate goal of the Alliance is to respond to farmer and consumer demands for safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable solutions to combat the pests impacting cowpea.

I’ve been working as a cowpea breeder in Nigeria for more than 20 years and I am familiar with the many challenges affecting cowpea production. But today there is one thing at the top of every farmer’s wish list. They want a safe, effective and affordable way to deal with pod borer and weevil infestations that can destroy 90% of their crop.

Mohammad F. Ishiyaku, Professor for Plant Breeding at Nigeria’s Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR)