Geha Foods Evaluation of Irrigation for Processed Tomatoes

Local Crop Husbandry
Production Practices
One concern I had in listening to some of the discussion around the office is the possible
desire to make the tomato production process too complex. It has to be noted that crop
husbandry tends to be very provincial so that what is best management in one area may not
be suitable for other areas. The differences could be substantial, possibly in the range of 30%
and not be easily explained, if at all. Also, most “best management practices” are based on
the potential of the physical environment. It is then left to the user to sort this down to the
economic optimal based on cost benefits estimates, and then the operational optimum based
on the availability of labor, etc. This latter restriction is often overlooked but the best
example might be the comparison between the Geha garden and the tomato plots on the
various contract farms. The Geha garden definitely looks much better than the farms, but if
you look at the ratio of area to labor I think you will see the Geha garden has a much higher
labor input to keep it well manicured. It is questionable if the extra labor Geha is using is
really economic for the contract farmers to commit, relative to their other commitments.
Thus while it is good to evaluate how tomatoes are produced in other areas, the starting point
is what is being done in Tajikistan and congenially negotiate how to modify the management,
and not just attempt to impose it. Again, the example might come from the Geha Garden
where the workers planted maize in the tomato rows, presumably to provide shade (shadow)
for the tomatoes and reduce sun burn (Fig. 28). Similarly, they took the weeds and covered
the tomatoes with them, again presumably to provide shade and reduce sunburn (Fig. 29).
Both practices are unknown to me from other locations, kind of cute, and were not used on
the various contract farms. However, they should not be summarily discarded, but casually
evaluated and at least partly kept to make certain the local knowledge and experience of
workers did not have some merit, as often is the case.
Fig. 28. Maize Plants Intercropped into tomato thought to
provide shade and reduce sunburn on the tomatoes.
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