NWAFD IFDC participates in the Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Linking Technical Options, Policy and Market Access for Improved Land Productivity project. IFDC is implementing this project as the task force leader in the Northern Guinea Savanna Zone (NGS). The project implements the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) approach using four innovation platforms (IP) for rice, vegetables, livestock and maize-legume. The projects described in the next two articles are both part of the NGS project. The maize and double cowpea system has been introduced through the Maize-Legume IP, while the tomato initiative is led by the Vegetable IP.
Nigerian Farmers Double Incomes With Maize-Double Cowpea Cropping System Nigerian farmers in the Ikara local government area are reaping the benefits of the maize-double cowpea cropping system, an innovation that generates significant financial returns while improving soil fertility. In this cropping system, alternate rows of maize (110-day growing season) and cowpeas (60-day growing season) are planted at the same time. After harvesting the first cowpea crop around August, cowpeas with a 75-day growing season are planted in the same rows as the former cowpea crop. When the maize is harvested in late August, the area that was planted with maize is then planted with cowpeas. During the next year, the process is repeated, but the planting rows are reversed so that the maize can benefit from the improved soil fertility from the fixed nitrogen generated by the cowpeas. Nitrogen is one of three essential elements needed for crop growth (along with phosphorus and potassium). These elements are “mined” from the soil by crops, and cowpeas and other legumes are one of the few natural methods to replace nitrogen in the soil. According to socio-economist Mamman Kwagyang Saleh, farmers also have much to gain financially by growing two cowpea crops. “At harvest in October, the price of maize is around 16 naira ($0.11) per kilogram (kg). At its peak in December, the price can reach up to 32 nairas per kg. The price of cowpeas starts at 60 nairas per kg at harvest in December and can reach 135 nairas ($0.89) per kg at the peak season during July and August,” Saleh explains. Reverend Sabastiane Canon, pastor of the Anglican Church in the village of Barangwaje, recalls, “In 2008, I was the first to plant maize in Kakuba, a neighboring village. When I moved to Barangwaje, one could tell that the soil here was not good for maize. Our farmers are now applying the new farming techniques combining maize and double cowpeas and the results are visible – the soils are better nourished and the 6
A Nigerian farmer in Bakula village explains the maize-double cowpea cropping system to visiting farmers.
people live better. I am well placed to testify, because when things go wrong, I am usually the first to know!” According to Dr. Constant Dangbegnon, scientific coordinator, “Each IP serves as a platform for diagnosing problems, exploring opportunities and investigating solutions in the context of the entire value chain. One of the most interesting outcomes of the project is that farmers get organized and put their means and minds together to solve problems. This is a way of ensuring sustainable progress.” “The maize-double cowpea system is an intensification practice that optimizes land use and maximizes crop output while increasing farmers’ incomes,” says Dr. Bitrus Tarfa, coordinator of the Maize-Legume IP. “After two years of on-farm trials, this system has been selected as one of the best options to solve problems related to declining soil fertility and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the NGS agro-ecological zone. Now, we want the local government to contribute by paying for fertilizer transport to lower costs for farmers.”