Tomato Harvesting
Tomato Harvesting
The extremes of tomato harvesting
In 2021, the volume of tomato production was estimated to have reached 21 million metric tons.
India is the second largest tomato producer in the world. Yet there is no organised tomato industry in India, and small farmers incur huge costs to harvest tomatoes, making almost no profit.
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"If I would have worked as a labor somewhere I would have earned a lot more than what I have earned through selling tomatoes."
Tomato farmers incur costs upto Rs 87,460, for input costs before sowing to maintenance of the plants throughout. However, they only earn revenue of about Rs 83,200, which leaves them with huge losses per farming cycle.
"We are able to get at least this yield because we use pesticides more. Otherwise we will be in losses."
Tomato harvesting is a long process, taking upto 90 days for a cycle, and the market has extreme fluctuations, which makes making a profit very difficult. Farmers often resort to using pesticides for faster growth, which impacts the environment negatively.
Problem Statement:
Problem Statement:
How might we support tomato farmers to reduce their costs and gain control over the tomato value chain?
High-cost enterprise
Environmental risks
Low returns
Volatile prices
