FARMERS MUST PRESERVE TOMATOES – CHANDA

By Jessica Mwansa

KANCHIBIYA Member of Parliament Sunday Chanda says farmers lose a lot of tomatoes every year due to the supply exceeding demand.

In an interview with The Scoop, Mr. Chanda said most farmers lose more than half of the total tomatoes produced therefore putting their efforts and resources to waste.

“Our farmers lose a lot of tomatoes every year due to supply exceeding demand and most of these products rot in local farmers’ markets. Sometimes farmers fail to preserve or to transport tomatoes on time due to poor road networks,” Mr. Chanda said.

He said there was a need to avoid the wastage of tomatoes and make good use of the excess products in order to reduce post-harvest losses.

“In times of low supply, consumers resort to tomato concentrates such as canned tomatoes and tomato purees which are often expensive because they are imported and processed in a much less organic method. Therefore, it calls for the use of innovative means to transform the surplus production of fresh tomatoes into preserved powder which would then be offered for consumption off season,” he said.

He said surplus tomatoes for processing could be purchased from farmers’ markets, farms, or agricultural cooperatives.

“Tomato powder can last for more than a year in storage and consumers can use it when cooking because it has no artificial colorings, additives, or preservatives added,” he said.

He further added that when farmers harvested their field crops, they should immediately start preparing the land for the next planting season.

“This involves removing any leftover crop residue, tilling the soil and adding any necessary fertilizers or soil amendments. Farmers should also consider cover cropping to help improve soil health and prevent erosion during the fallow period,” he said.

Mr. Chanda added that many farmers started out on a part time basis where they worked on their farm while still holding a full-time job, thereby allowing them to build up their farm business gradually as they were still having a steady source of income.

“It is important to note that farming is a demanding and time-consuming profession and balancing a full-time job with farming can be challenging. It may be necessary to make sacrifices in terms of time and energy in order to make a farm business successful.

“In terms of profitability, it can take several years for a farm to become profitable; approximately three to five years is the standard estimation for how long it takes a business to be profitable, but each startup has different initial costs and ways of measuring business profitability,” he said.

He said the decision to quit a job and pursue farming full-time or to balance both depended on individual circumstances and goals adding that one needed to understand that the first two years might need to inject money in farming activities regularly.