Postharvest Handling Practices and Hygiene Knowledge of Cowpea Leaves among Households in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya

Abstract

Cowpea leaves are highly perishable seasonal crops with limited utilization in the arid and semi- arid lands. The instituted coping strategies among households to enhance the availability of the vegetable for consumption are yet to be elucidated in any documented studies. The study sought to assess the post-harvest handling practices and hygiene knowledge in the arid lands of Kenya. A cross-sectional study involving 405 randomly selected households was used in Taita Taveta and Kitui Counties. A large percentage (97.5%) of households consumed cowpea leaves sourced from their farms. Households producing cowpea leaves in Taita Taveta County had less odds (OR=0.6) of having surplus produce than those from Kitui County (χ2=5.4, df =1, p<0.05). Major storage techniques for surplus produce among the households included drying (16.8%) and storage under low temperature (8.4%), there was a significant difference in the storage techniques between the two counties (p<0.05). Field heat management was only done among 55.3% households with the higher percentage (71.7%) being from Taita Taveta County (χ2=45.2, df=1, p<0.05). Some households have learnt some methods to extend the shelf life but have not been adopted, there was no statistical significance difference between the two counties on the adoption of the preservation methods (χ2=0.3, df=1, p>0.05). Losses are majorly attributed by poor storages facilities, at least 59.6 % of farmers from Taita Taveta lack these facilities and 40.4%/ from Kitui, with a significant difference (p<0.05, χ2=16.2). Both regions had poor hygiene and post-harvest handling knowledge scores with Kitui County having higher scores, A significant difference (p<0.05, x=33.2) in knowledge scores was noted between the two counties. In conclusion, post-harvest management practices in both counties are inadequate and need to be improved in order to increase utilization and reduce post-harvest losses.