Socio-economic constraints like gender, education, age, and income significantly affect the adoption of improved agricultural technologies. The objective of this study was to determine socio-economic factors that affect the adoption of improved cowpea varieties in the Senegalese peanut basin. The study was conducted in three (Bambey, Kebemer, and Kaffrine) of six regions of the peanut basin based on regional importance of cowpea production and rainfall gradient. In each study region, ten villages were selected, and random sampling was used to select eight heads of agricultural households within each village. The questionnaires were administered to 240 randomly selected farmers across the three study regions, 7 communes, and 30 villages. Results showed most heads of households were middle-aged (52–54 years old), married (95–100%), illiterate (84%), and men (95–100%). Households were mostly agriculture dependent (87%), low literacy rates (26% least primary school), and large family sizes (average of 15 members). The median cowpea yields across the study area varied from 35–100 kg ha⁻¹, well below the ~300–400 kg ha⁻¹ average yields reported for Senegal and Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of farmers (67%) in the study regions did not use improved varieties, and the main reasons were low seed availability (78.8%) and limited access to technical knowledge and information (76.3%), but only 5.8% indicated seed price as a barrier to improved variety adoption. Major uses of cowpea in the study area were for marketing, livestock feed, and human consumption. In Kaffrine, fodder production was the major (85%) criterion for cowpea variety selection, whereas in the north (Bambey and Kebemer), taste, maturity date, and grain yield were major selection criteria. Factors that had positive effect on the likelihood of using improved cowpea varieties include; access to extension services, membership in farmers’ organization, cowpea being the main crop of production, organic farming, market, and livestock-oriented production systems, access to farmland and credit, dependence on agriculture as the main source of household income, and education of head of household. We conclude that there is a critical need for training, access to improved seeds, awareness, and financial support to producers to increase the adoption of new improved cowpea varieties, yields, profitability, and nutritional security among smallholder farmers in the Senegalese peanut basin.

This article aims to investigate the factors influencing the closure of informal businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on the differences between businesses led by women and men. The research employed a logistic regression approach and utilized the matching method to evaluate the pandemic’s impact. The study relied on a database created by the Development Policy Analysis Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, which encompassed 923 informal businesses operating in diverse sectors in Dakar. The findings demonstrate that businesses managed by women experienced a more severe impact from the pandemic, leading to a higher likelihood of temporary closure. These results underscore the disproportionate effect of the crisis on women entrepreneurs within the informal sector and emphasize the necessity for tailored measures to support this vulnerable population during and after the pandemic. Such measures should address the unique challenges faced by women-led informal businesses and help foster their recovery and long-term sustainability