African slaves in the sixteenth century first brought the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) to Brazil from western Africa. It became a common plant in the northeast of Brazil, and today it is generally referred to as feijão de corda or feijão caupi. This area remains a center of cowpea biodiversity and the Brazilian agricultural research agency Embrapa has selected 300 varieties. Among these is the Canapu Cowpea, which is grown in a semi-arid region in the south of Piauí. As large as a grain of corn, the Canapu has irregular oval shapes. Like most cowpeas, the Canapu has an eye, a dark point, against a background color of clear green, pale pink, or bronzy yellow. When it is cooked, the Canapu becomes dark brown with violet markings and is noted for its smoothness, flavor, and notes of freshly mown grass, hay, and walnuts.
Canapu is cultivated entirely by hand, from planting to harvest, and no chemical fertilizers or treatment is used. In the same fields where Canapu is grown, farmers plant cassava, corn, rice and cashew trees. The cashews grow alongside the cowpeas, but as their canopy grows, they crowd out shade and after four years the Canapu is no longer planted.
The Canapu Cowpea can be eaten fresh or dried, and it is an ingredient in a range of local dishes, including mugunzá, a dish made from corn, pork, and beans that is eaten on feast days.
Local recipes highlight the Canapus flavor and special consistency. Locals explain that they have refused to substitute this local variety with more productive cowpea strains because of its excellent taste. The most commonly cultivated cowpea in the state of Piauí, the Canapus market is almost exclusively local as farmers sell primarily at fairs and markets.

The Presidium
Canapu Cowpeas are particularly appealing for their excellent taste quality, their sustainable and natural production system, and their strong ties to the local culture.
Although their product is symbolically and economically important, the producers of Canapu have never created an organization to represent their interests or to outline a production protocol for Canapu that ensures a constant supply of good seed and systematizes the agricultural techniques that produce the best-quality cowpea.
The presidium will respond to this need, starting in the small municipalities of Picos and Campogrande (Piauí State) and the production area will slowly broaden to include other municipalities.
The objectives of the project include the organization of a core of producers, the creation of a production protocol, and the promotion of the Canapu Cowpea to a broader market. In the long term, the presidium will encourage the formation of an association of producers.
This project was created thanks to a nomination from Embrapa and is being developed in collaboration with the Picos branch of Emater (Development Agency for the Piauí State), which is working directly to coordinate the producers involved.

Production area:
Campogrande do Piauí, near Picos, Piauí State, Northeast

With the patronage of:
Brazilian Ministry of Agricultural Development