Abstract:
The study looked at Farmers’ perception on middlemen in the marketing of tomato in Tademeri sub county, budaka district. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative analyses of survey data collected. Questionnaires and interviews from a sample of 80 respondents purposively and randomly selected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. The study revealed that crop production was the main source of income for the farmers, 50.6% harvesting 100-500kg/yr., 32.9% harvesting 500-900kg/yr,10.1% harvesting 900-1300kg/yr. and 6.3 harvesting above 1300kg/yr. and these tomato produce were 95% purposely for sell, most of farmers 63.8% sold their tomatoes to middlemen and most of farmer 28.8% strongly agree and 35% agree that middlemen provide the most convenient link for selling tomato produce, because the move to different parts of the country looking for the markets were farmers’ produce are sold, beside that middlemen 67.5% exploit farmers for instance buy produce from the farmers at low prices and then resell them to traders and consumers at high prices. Middlemen 48.8% and fellow farmers 32.5% are the major means of getting market information used by farmers and these means of getting information are 80% reliable sources of information to the farmers. The price is 65% determined by farmers and 23.8% determined by middlemen through their bargaining power. The study recommends that Females should also take lead in the business.
Middlemen being a necessary evil as implied by the study must be regulated. Farmers find middlemen as more convenient and add to their profitability. They offer them with market information. However, the farmers believe that they are being exploited by them.
