Power Dynamics between Farmers and Market Masters

Abstract

Like in many places in rural Tanzania, tomato production has become an important economic horticultural activity. The main reasons for the sudden upsurge of tomato production over the past few years include its better market prospect compared to other traditional crops although this prospect vary across seasons and locations. Of late however, tomato farmers have faced a number of challenges in the production and marketing of tomatoes. The main challenges include high cost of production and perishable nature of the crop that induce significant variation in farmers’ earnings. Another challenge facing tomato producers is the long chain of actors between production and consumption leading to information gaps between farmers and consumers in terms of optimal price for the product. This paper examines the status of tomato marketing with respect to information sharing and power relations between farmers and market masters in the tomato value chain. The paper concludes by giving possible avenues for resolving the communication problems through project interventions.