Gendered cowpea market segments for Nigeria: what are market sizes and preferences?

Gender-sensitive cowpea market segments were identified for Nigeria. For the case of cowpea in Nigeria, market segments for producers should also capture consumer preferred traits, given that most of the cowpea consumed within the country is also produced within. A combination of hedonic pricing method and a choice experiment were used to identify gender-sensitive market segments for cowpea in Nigeria. The hedonic pricing method was used to identify key consumer and producer traits (including important hidden traits) to use in the choice experiment. From the choice experiment, 8 market segments were identified across Target Production Environments (TPEs) in Nigeria. These market segments imply that white, brown and speckled cowpea are consumed in Nigeria; also, the largest market segment tends to prefer both large and small/medium cowpea varieties. Cowpea with large size is usually preferred for meals where the cowpea grain is seen (bean porridge, etc.), whereas cowpea with small/medium size is preferred for food involving cowpea paste/flour. The results from this study will support the development of product profiles for Nigeria; they will also help to identify game changers (market segments) for Nigeria.