Determinants of choice of marketing channel among tomato small holder farmers in Bungokho sub county, Mbale district.

Abstract

Marketing channel choices play an important role to the incomes and livelihood attributes among the small holder farmers in developing countries such as Uganda. However, recent evidence indicates that the sales of agricultural products such as tomatoes have declined over the last three years which could for be attributed to the choice of marketing channel. Therefore, this study sought to examine the factors associated with the choice of marketing channels among tomato smallholder farmers in Bungokho sub-county Mbale district. This was cross-sectional research design study that utilized primary data. A structured questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 149 tomato small holder farmers. A Multinomial logistic regression model was used. Of the 149 farmers, 52.35% sold their tomatoes to wholesalers, 26.85% to retailers and 20.81% sold to individual consumers. The results further indicated that the divorced compared to the single farmers were less likely to sell their tomatoes to wholesalers rather than to retailers. Those with larger farm sizes had higher likelihood of selling to wholesalers rather than to retailers. Farmers belonging to association have higher likelihood of selling their tomatoes to wholesalers, and individual consumers rather than to retailers. Lastly, farmers who transport their tomatoes to market by foot are more likely to sell to individual consumers rather than retailers compared to their counter parts that use bicycle, whereas those that use motorcycle are less likely to sell to individual consumers rather than retailers compared to those that use bicycle. The main opportunities enjoyed by the tomato smallholder farmers in Bungokho Mbale district were higher profit margins, increased sales volume, and time saving and paying immediately. The main barriers faced by the tomato small holder farmers in Bungokho sub county Mbale district were high transport costs, price fluctuations, difficulty in assessing marketing information, lack of storage facilities and lack of bargaining power. This study highlights that the determinant of choice of marketing channel among tomato small holder farmers in Bungokho sub county, Mbale district is mainly driven by both socio demographic and infrastructure/ farm related factors, therefore interventions directed towards improving and optimizing tomato marketing channels by the Ugandan government and other key stakeholders should consider these differentials. It is crucial to address main barriers faced by the tomato small holder farmers in Bungokho sub county Mbale district. Future studies on this subject should examine the profitability of these marketing channels.