Food and nutrition security is vital in sub-Saharan Africa

We should   focus  on   testing various improved technologies to boost legume production. These include new improved varieties that are high yielding, good and innovative agricultural management practices such as the appropriate use of fertilizers as well as postharvest management and processing technologies.

Agriculture is under increasing pressure to produce greater quantities of food, feed and biofuel on limited land resources for the projected nine billion people on the planet by 2050. It is envisioned that agricultural production has to increase by 70 per cent by 2050 to cope with an estimated 40 per cent increase in world population.

Legumes have been used by indigenous peoples in Africa for centuries, their full potential has never been realized. With modern technology there is scope for rapid improvement of both plant and microbial germplasm.

The cowpea   is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Due to its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall, it is an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.

Four subspecies of cowpeas are recognised, of which three are cultivated. A high level of morphological diversity is found within the species with large variations in the size, shape, and structure of the plant. Cowpeas can be erect, semierect (trailing), or climbing. The crop is mainly grown for its seeds, which are high in protein, although the leaves and immature seed pods can also be consumed.

Cultivated cowpeas are known by the common names black-eyed pea, southern pea, yardlong bean, catjang, and crowder pea. They were domesticated in Africa and are one of the oldest crops to be farmed.   The seeds are usually cooked and made into stews and curries, or ground into flour or paste.

Most cowpeas are grown on the African continent, particularly in Nigeria and Niger, which account for 66 per cent of world production.   Insect infestation is a major constraint to the production of cowpea, sometimes causing over 90 per cent loss in yield.  

Government efforts to look for foreign markets for local produce are yielding fruit as it has found a market for rice and maize in seven countries in the region, in which case producers need to tap these opportunities.

The government through its embassies had secured ready markets for crops in Oman, Egypt, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Burundi and Comoro Islands.

Through TANTRADE, the government received requests from the private sector in Rwanda seeking to purchase 102,000 tonnes of maize, Burundi 100,000 tonnes, Zambia 3,000 tonnes and Comoro Island 3,000 tonnes of the produce in the current financial year, she said.

Statistics from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) on crop exports show at least 39,218 tonnes had already been sold.

In the same vein, the government has managed to convince investors to come and invest in processing pigeon peas and other legumes.

An Indian company, Mahashree Agro Processing Ltd, is building a factory in Morogoro with a capacity to process 700,000 tonnes of the crop per year, which is expected to start operations soonest.

Other industries processing the crop include Quality Pulse Exporters Ltd of Dar es Salaam, Agro Processing Pulse whose investors are from Kenya and India and Samson Agro Export Ltd from India.

It is good news that the government is working hard to ensure that factories processing peas are available in the country, and in  efforts to broaden the market and people should consume more   peas   since they are good for health..

Peas farmers in the country have for a long time failed to get a market for their products.  

Indeed the government has both short and long term strategies, where the long term strategy includes inviting investors to establish factories.

Short term strategies include looking for markets within and outside the country, with good results having been seen since March, following visitations in search for crop markets in Malawi, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia. Malawi has shown interest in purchasing 7,000 tonnes of pigeon peas this year and the process has started.