Improved nursery practices and farmers’ willingness to adopt heat-tolerant tomatoes under tropical conditions

Abstract

Heat-tolerant tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L) can be used to alleviate the impact of climate variability, increase productivity, and increase income of smallholder vegetable farmers under tropical conditions. Adoption of improved nursery practices and willingness to adopt heat-tolerant tomato varieties under tropical conditions was examined. Using data from 432 tomato farmers, multivariate probit and tobit regression models were used to assess willingness to adopt heat-tolerant varieties and number of nursery practices. Willingness to adopt heat-tolerant tomato varieties was positively influenced by education, experience, and extension contacts. Adoption of improved nursery practices was influenced by sex, household size, off-farm income, credit, education and extension. These results will enable decision-makers to prioritize strategies that target educated farmers with more years of experience in tomato production and have contacts with extension to enhance the adoption of heat-tolerant tomato seeds with complementary improved nursery practices to increase productivity and income of smallholder tomato farmers under tropical conditions.