Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Friday, September 21, 2018

Increasing Cowpea value chain sustainability in West Africa through product and process innovation

18 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag
Video interview with Yann E. Madode - with his CIRAD partner Aurelien Briffaz of the ICOWPEA project (Increasing Cowpea value chain sustainability in West Africa through product and process innovation) (Yann is also related to the Benin/Soy consortium)
  • Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), also called black eyed pea, is a legume seed which is extensively cultivated and consumed in sub-Saharan Africa. It has a very interesting nutritional potential since it is rich in vitamins, proteins and fibres. 
  • In Benin, this legume seed is used in many traditional dishes that are appreciated by the consumers: abobo (stew), ata (fritters), moin-moin, adowè (puree), ataclè… 
  • Nevertheless, cowpea has two major disadvantages: it contains important quantities of antinutritional factors that induce digestive disorders and it needs a long soaking-cooking time which causes important micronutrient losses (including vitamins). 
  • Using a transdisciplinary approach, ICOWPEA project (2017-2019), aims at developing technological solutions through an innovation platform that facilitate the launch of cowpea-based innovative products having a high nutritional value and meeting local demand.
Objectives
Through its research activities, ICOWPEA project aims:
  • Increasing cowpea consumption in Cotonou through the improvement of processing conditions and the development of cowpea-based products of high nutritional value.
  • Co-building sustainable product-process innovation in close collaboration with local cowpea processors and small food businesses through participative research.
  • Contributing to food security in urban context through the development of cowpea-based products having both high nutritional and organoleptic values.

Partners
The different project partners and associated are already, for the most part, long-standing partners who collaborated on different projects.
  • CIRAD Logo
    French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working for the sustainable development. CIRAD ensures the general coordination of ICOWPEA.
  • FSA logo
    Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Abomey-Calavi (FSA-UAC), Abomey-Calavi, Benin
  • IRD logo
    Research Institute for Development (IRD)/ NutriPass Unit, Montpellier, France
  • MSA logo
    Montpellier SupAgro - Institute for Higher Education in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Agri-Food Sciences, Montpellier, France
  • Gaz dryers at the ALITECH company  (© R. Kumako, Cirad)
    ALITECH Industries entreprise, Cotonou, Benin, and other small businesses


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