Integrating Local Knowledge, Participatory Selection, and Genomic Tools for Climate-Resilient Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) Improvement in Mozambique

Agriculture is the cornerstone of many economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder farming systems are primarily rain-fed and often rely on traditional crop varieties, characterised mainly by subsistence farming with small units of hand-cultivated land. These farming systems face low agricultural output due to limited adoption of new technologies, low input use, minimal yields, and susceptibility to climatic stresses. Very limited agricultural innovation is available to target the specific needs of local agriculture, with negative consequences on farmers’ food security and capacity for development. Mozambique is paradigmatic of these challenges. In this study, we assessed how agricultural innovation, and specifically crop breeding, can be targeted to local users to enhance the adaptation of local agriculture. We focus on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), an underutilised, nutritionally dense, climate-resilient crop that is integral to diverse cropping systems and serves as an income source for many farmers. In this thesis, we set out to integrate socio-economic, phenotypic, and genomic analyses to unravel cowpea agrobiodiversity, seed trait genetics, and farmer-driven selection priorities in Mozambique. First, we use a socio-economic approach using household surveys and focus group discussions to assess farmers' local knowledge and adaptation strategies in northern Mozambique; then, we perform a genomics-based evaluation of a large collection of cowpea accessions, mostly landraces, from southern African countries, including the ex-situ collection from the Mozambique national genebank, to unlock the capacity for adaptation of cowpea agrobiodiversity. We follow this with a participatory variety selection conducted in contrasting agroecological zones to assess farmers’ trait preferences and gender-differentiated selection criteria. Finally, we evaluate selected cowpea accessions for seed morphological traits in a genome-wide association study to identify molecular targets for breeding. The results of this research provide useful information informing cowpea breeding programmes to improve this crop's resilience, supporting more resilient agricultural practices, and leveraging local agrobiodiversity for improved cowpea productivity and adaptation in Mozambique and other southern African countries.