Assessing Smallholder Farmers’ Knowledge and Adoption Dynamics of Post-Harvest Cowpea Storage Technologies in Northern Nigeria

Post-harvest grain losses caused by cowpea bruchids (Callosobruchus maculatus) threaten foodsecurity and smallholder livelihoods across Northern Nigeria. This study evaluated smallholder farmers’ knowledge and adoption dynamics of improved post-harvest cowpea storage technologies. A multi-stage sampling technique was utilized. Primary data were collected from 300 cowpea farmers using a well-structured questionnaire subjected to validity and reliability tests. Descriptive statistics, three, four and five-point Likert-scales and mean score rating, and Probit regression models were used for data analysis. The mean age of cowpea farmers was 43 years with farming experience of 16 years. They are smallholder farmers with an average farm size of 1.8ha. The result further reveals an overall high composite knowledge score (80.0%) with farmers demonstrating strong and triple-bagging protocols, though significant knowledge gaps persisted regarding pre-storage moisture testing and inner liner puncture inspection. The Probit results (p < 0.01) demonstrated that formal education ( = 0.084), extension frequency ( = 0.2155), cooperative membership ( = 0.412), and credit access ( = 0.388) significantly increased the probability of adopting hermetic storage technologies, whereas perception of technology cost (( = -0.312), exerted s strong negative effect. The major adoption constraints identified were high upfront purchasing costs, local market scarcity of authentic bags, and the proliferation of counterfeit products. The study recommends that policy interventions must strengthened extension outreach on technical maintenance, expand agricultural credit access, establish group-purchasing framework through cooperatives, and enforce strict quality control to eradicate fake hermetic products from local markets.