Effects of agronomic practices on the yield and profitability of tomatoes in Luwero district

Abstract

The study was conducted in Luwero district with the objectives of assessing the key agronomic practices that influence yield and profitability in tomato production, and estimating the effect of agronomic practices on yield and profitability of tomatoes in Luwero district.A cross sectional research design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data through use of questionnaires, key informant interviews and field visit observations where 60 respondents were interviewed in the 2 sub counties and observations from nearby farmers’ gardens were done by the researcher. The study findings revealed that farmers who earned income from off-farm activities were able to boost their tomato farms throughout the year.Irrigation was the pivot in production and farmers who were unable to irrigate obtained relatively lower yield compared to those who irrigated. Production was most profitable in the second season especially for those farmers who could irrigate, as they sold at high prices but most farmers depended mainly on rain fed production, which lowered their benefits especially in the second season which was associated with too little rainfall.Most farmers were so much concentrated on use of pesticides as a way of managing pests and diseases. Sticky traps were less used by most farmers, though they were excellent in combating pests for the few farmers who used them. In conclusion, tomato production in the second season was highly profitable and irrigation was a critical practice in determining yield and profitability. I recommended farmers to have offfarm income sources, produce more in the second season, invest in irrigation and hired labour, adopt sticky traps and finally, purchase and stock most of the inputs in the first season when prices were relatively lower.