Analysis of Tomato Market Diversity among Rural Smallholder Farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

The present study was conducted to analyze tomato market diversity among rural smallholder farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Data was collected from rural smallholder farmers in Kirinyaga County, following a multi-stage sampling technique. Further the Simpson’s Diversity Index and Tobit regression model were applied for analysis. Results revealed that majority of the respondents sell the tomato produce in three channels. Higher prices were recorded for contract and wholesale markets while retail and direct markets reported the lowest produce prices. Tomato marketing experiences inefficiencies that lead to unprecedented inequalities. This is attributed to limited information on strategies to expand markets at farm level. Following the debate on market participation among farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, this study contributes to the existing literature through modelling proportional the available market channels and compute the magnitude of market expansion using Simpson’s Diversity Index. This articulates an opportunity to diversify further thus enabling farmers minimize risk of losses and explore existing markets.