IITA and partners will host the 5th World Cowpea Research Conference in Dakar, Senegal from 27 September to 1 October 2010. The meeting will tackle research issues to enhance the profile of cowpea as a viable income-generating and food security crop.

The conference will cover a wide range of topics—from cowpea genetic improvement and use of molecular tools, to human nutrition and processing and enterprise development.

Known as “black-eyed peas”, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an annual legume and is one of the most ancient crops known to man.

Cowpea seller in market. Photo by IITA.

Worldwide, it is grown on about 10.1 million ha, with an annual grain production of approximately 4.99 million tons (FAO 2008). The largest production is in Africa; Nigeria and Niger are the biggest producers. The largest areas under cultivation are in Central and West Africa. Brazil, Haiti, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia, the US, Bosnia, and Herzegovina also have significant production.

Conference partners include the Dry Grain Pulses Collaborative Research Support Programme (Pulse-CRSP), Purdue University, and the Institut Senegalais de Recherches Agricoles.