IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i3p1436-d735125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices and Varietal Preferences of Tomato in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Leander D. Melomey

    (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon PMB 30, Ghana
    African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Nairobi P.O. Box 30709-00100, Kenya)

  • Mathieu A. T. Ayenan

    (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon PMB 30, Ghana
    World Vegetable Center, West and Central Africa—Coastal and Humid Regions, IITA-Benin Campus, Cotonou 08 BP 0932, Benin)

  • George Marechera

    (African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Nairobi P.O. Box 30709-00100, Kenya)

  • Pearl Abu

    (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon PMB 30, Ghana)

  • Agyemang Danquah

    (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon PMB 30, Ghana
    Department of Crop Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon LG 44, Ghana)

  • David Tarus

    (African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Nairobi P.O. Box 30709-00100, Kenya)

  • Eric Y. Danquah

    (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon PMB 30, Ghana
    Department of Crop Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon LG 44, Ghana)

Abstract

Tailored interventions in the tomato sector require current information on production and marketing systems along with the constraints faced by the stakeholders. We conducted this study to understand the current production practices, stakeholders’ varietal preferences, tomato market trends, and challenges along the crop’s value chains. A multistage sampling method coupled with a random walk was used to identify survey locations and identify 180 respondents across seven regions in Ghana. The study showed that tomato was predominantly produced by male (81%) and literate farmers (84%). Tomato farmers were smallholder farmers generally cultivating less than five acres. Tomato was mainly cultivated under rainfed conditions. Farmers used both bought seeds and their own saved seeds for production. Farmers in Bono, Greater Accra, and the Upper East region largely cultivated improved tomato varieties, while farmers in the Bono East region cultivated local varieties. Across the regions, being a male and having access to irrigation facilities increased the probability of using improved varieties by 19% and 51%, respectively. The most important farmer and market preference criteria included high yield, medium to large fruit size and rounded fruit shape, red color, time to maturity and disease resistance. The major production challenges of tomato production included diseases, pests, and poor access to water for irrigation. The average yield of tomato varied from 6902.26 kg/ha in the Bono Region to 16,213.98 kg/ha in Bono East. Tomato was exclusively produced for fresh market. The major marketing challenges were low producer prices, low demand for produce, and competition from other farmers. This study provides key information to improve tomato value chains and guide the introduction or breeding of improved tomato varieties.

Suggested Citation

  • Leander D. Melomey & Mathieu A. T. Ayenan & George Marechera & Pearl Abu & Agyemang Danquah & David Tarus & Eric Y. Danquah, 2022. "Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices and Varietal Preferences of Tomato in Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1436-:d:735125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1436/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1436/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. M. S. Sibomana & T. S. Workneh & K. Audain, 2016. "A review of postharvest handling and losses in the fresh tomato supply chain: a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(2), pages 389-404, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bedru B. Balana & Crystal N. Aghadi & Adebayo I. Ogunniyi, 2022. "Improving livelihoods through postharvest loss management: evidence from Nigeria," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 249-265, February.
    2. Mehdi Mahmoudi & Hosein Mohammadi & Sayed Saghaian & Alireza Karbasi, 2024. "Factors Affecting the Waste of Selected Agricultural Products with an Emphasis on the Marketing Mix," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Christine Plaisier & Milindi Sibomana & Johannes Van der Waal & Luud Clercx & Coen P. A. Van Wagenberg & Youri Dijkxhoorn, 2019. "Approach for Designing Context-Specific, Locally Owned Interventions to Reduce Postharvest Losses: Case Study on Tomato Value Chains in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Alexander Michael Kaminski & Steven Michael Cole & Robin Elizabeth Al Haddad & Alexander Shula Kefi & Alex Dennis Chilala & Gethings Chisule & Kelvin Ntaswila Mukuka & Catherine Longley & Shwu Jiau Te, 2020. "Fish Losses for Whom? A Gendered Assessment of Post-Harvest Losses in the Barotse Floodplain Fishery, Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Susanna Ibrahim Zego & Zuhra Junaida Binti IR Mohamad Husny Hamid & Nabila AbdulGhani & Safizahanin Mokhtar, 2024. "Exploring the Current Challenges of Cold Chain Logistics Stakeholders in the Tomatoes Value Chain in Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(3), pages 1685-1697, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1436-:d:735125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.