Participatory innovation for the development of products based on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in Benin – ICOWPEA

The aim of the ICOWPEA (Increasing COwpea value chain sustainability in West Africa through Product and procEss innovAtion) project is to co-develop process innovations and products based on the cowpea through an action-research in partnership approach involving artisans, processing SMEs, consumers, researchers and NGOs.

Start date

01/02/2017

End date

31/12/2019

Objectives

- Improving knowledge of the Beninese cowpea sector and of the characteristics of artisanal participation and of the SMEs of the cowpea processing sector in Cotonou.

- Characterizing cowpea consumption patterns in the urban context (Cotonou) as well as their consequences on the nutritional status of populations.

- Studying, through a linked experimentation and modelling approach, the physico-chemical and nutritional behaviour of cowpeas during processing operations.

- Co-constructing process innovations and products based on cowpea through an action-research in partnership approach involving artisans, processing SMEs, consumers, researchers and NGOs.

Partners

In Benin

Faculty of the Agricultural Sciences at Abomey-Calavi University (FSA-UAC), Abomey-Calavi, Benin.
Artisanal actors and SMEs involved in processing cowpea in Cotonou.

In France

CIRAD, Montpellier, France.
French Research Institute for Development (IRD), Montpellier, France.
Montpellier SupAgro – Institut des régions chaudes, Montpellier, France (Associate).

Team

ALISTAR

Funding

The project is funded by the Agropolis, Daniel & Nina Carasso and Cariplo foundations as part of the ‘Thought for Food Initiative’ call for projects.