Assessing consumer preferences for tomato attributes in Uganda

Abstract

The tomato is a fruit of the plant, which we can eat. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuati word tomato gave rise to the Spanish word tomate, from which the English word tomato is derived. Tomatoes are an important vegetable crop in Uganda. The crop is mainly grown in the Victoria Basin because of its particular soil and environmental conditions. Tomatoes are grown in other areas of Uganda, including Kabale, Kasese, Mbale, Kapchorwa, Mubende, Masaka, and Wakiso districts. Choosing a tomato cultivar is based on the fruit quality, adaptability, and reliability of the tomato, as well as susceptibility to diseases and pests. Tomato varieties grown in Uganda include the moneymaker, Bonny Best, Marglobe, Rio Grande, Tengeru 97, Amateur Rodade, Heinz, and New Fortune maker F1. Tomatoes are a common source of nutrition in Uganda, and they are consumed by about three million households in most meals. The tomato can be processed and combined in many different ways to create dishes that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, such as canned paste, fresh vegetables, tomato juice, sauce, or soup. Tomatoes are a nutritious food that is high in vitamin C and contains lycopene, an important antioxidant. Consumer buying behavior is the process of selecting, purchasing, and consuming goods and services in order to satisfy personal desires. There are different ways that consumers behave, depending on the type of behavior. There are many factors that affect an individual's behavior and the decision-making process of a consumer. These factors include specificities and characteristics of the individual, the kind of products or services that he is interested in, and his shopping habits. In addition, the brands that an individual buys and the retailers that he visits can also be influenced by these factors. The consumer begins by trying to figure out what commodities he wants to purchase and then only purchases those that offer greater utility. After choosing a product, consumers estimate the available money they can spend. The major purpose of this research study was to assess consumer preferences for tomato attributes in Uganda. A questionnaire was used to and 134 respondents participated in the survey. The findings show that the most preferred variety of tomatoes by the consumers in Uganda was the Ansal variety. This is because of its desirable attributes such as the size, availability, taste, firmness, shape, and shelf life (ability to last long when bought) compared to the other varieties such as money maker, marglobe, and commando f1.The tomato consumers prefer buying from the market place rather than other places such as supermarkets, hawkers, and the road side. The xi market place was most preferred by the consumers for buying tomatoes because of variety, good services, and location. Most of the tomato consumers buy two times a week buy an average of 25 tomatoes per week and spend an average amount of shs. 6000 on tomatoes per week. There are many tomato attributes like price, location, size, color, availability, taste, firmness, shape, ripeness and shelf life. However, tomato consumers in Uganda are mostly sensitive to size compared to the other attributes.