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i AN ASSESSMENT OF TOMATO PRICE VARIABILITY IN LUSAKA ...

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In the case of the March 2008 price collapse, Choona and Masansa collectively supplied<br />

the market with 49% of the tomatoes. Choona alone accounted for 20% and supplied the<br />

market with 247 mt while Masansa supplied 174 mt. The supplies from the two areas are<br />

to some extent largely responsible for the March price collapse.<br />

As noted earlier, supply areas such as Mkushi farm block, Nkolonga and farmers in<br />

Kapiri Mposhi district supplied the market with tomatoes mainly during high price<br />

months. These supply areas are dominated by large farmers who generally have more<br />

financial resources and farming knowledge than small farmers. The high price months<br />

these farmers supplied their tomatoes in is indicative of a tomato crop grown in the rainy<br />

season, during which production costs can be very high. These high production costs are<br />

associated with high weed management requirements and more frequent pest and disease<br />

outbreaks which require chemical applications for their management. Being large<br />

farmers, it is easier for them to grow and manage a rain fed crop since they have more<br />

financial resources to engage labor for weeding and buy chemicals for pest and disease<br />

control. In addition to this, with the edge they have in farming knowledge, this puts them<br />

in a better position to manage their crops well.<br />

On the basis of the different supply areas and the different farmer types found in each<br />

supply area, the channels through which tomatoes enter the system is presented in figure<br />

2.1. Channels 1 through 3 represent tomatoes taken directly to the markets by farmers<br />

28

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