An Analysis of factors that influence production and participation decisions in cowpea production in Rushinga district, Mashonaland Central

Abstract

Despite its importance as a legume, cowpea production has not received much attention as other crops in Zimbabwe. This study investigated the livelihoods, knowledge, attitudes and practices and the technical, socio-economic, institutional factors influencing cowpea production in Rushinga district. Zimbabwe. Data were collected with the use of questionnaire administered to 252 farmers selected randomly from four different wards. Key informants were also interviewed. Descriptive statistics, likert scale and logit regression was used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that 37.7% of the farmers were females and the rest were male. Age of the respondents ranged from 26 to 40 years of age and more than 50% have attained education up to secondary level. Majority had less than 0.5ha grown to cowpeas. Most of the farmers still use the manual methods for their on-farm operations. The research findings elaborated that the common livelihood strategy is cultivation of food and cash crops. Farmers are knowledgeable and well aware of the benefits of cowpeas this is in agreement with the positive attitude that has been portrayed by the respondents. Result of the logit regression presented that use of certified seed, time of planting, education; extension visits, market and access to credit are positive and significantly influence cowpea production. Itis recommended that policies should be formulated to take advantage of the factors that positively influence cowpea production and build on them so that farmers’ livelihoods can improve through increase in production of cowpeas. Keywords: Cowpea, livelihoods, likert scale, socio-economic and institutional factors