RÉPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN Paix – Travail – Patrie MINISTÈRE DE L'AGRICULTURE ET DU DÉVELOPPEMENT RURAL SECRETARIAT GENERAL DIRECTION DES ORGANISATIONS PROFESSIONNELLES AGRICOLES ET DE L'APPUI AUX EXPLOITATIONS AGRICOLES SOUS-DIRECTION DE LA VULGARISATION AGRICOLE
Minader
Ministère de l'Agriculture et du Développement Rural Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON Peace-Work-Fatherland MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SECRETARIAT GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATIONS AND SUPPORT TO FARM ENTERPRISES SUB-DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC DATA SHEET FOR TOMATO PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION
October 2024
SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE... 3
I- BACKGROUND... Erreur ! Signet non défini.
II- TECHNICAL ITINERARY... 3
II.1. Site selection... 4 II.2. Sowing period... 4 II.3. Nursery... 4 II.4. Site preparation... 5 II.5. Transplanting... 5 II.6. Staking... 5 II.7. Pruning... 6 II.8. Maintenance fertiliser... 6 II.9. Watering... 6 II.10. Disease and pest management... 6 II.11. Harvesting... 7 II.12. Yield... 7 II.13. Preservation, processing and packaging... 7
III- FORECAST OF THE OPERATING BUDGET... 8
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this technical data sheet is to disseminate appropriate cultivation practices to improve tomato productivity and production in Cameroon, to producers. The long-term impact will be to mitigate the effects of the food crisis and improve producers' income.
It is a support and reference tool for extension workers and rural advisers in the context of capacity building for producers.
I- GENERAL INFORMATION
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a branched annual plant whose stems require staking to improve yields. The production cycle for this crop varies from 120 to 150 days. In Cameroon, it is one of the staples most widely consumed by the population and is also increasingly used by farmers in peri-urban and forested areas. Tomatoes are grown all year round, but yields vary according to climate conditions and agro-ecological zones. Many producers throughout the country are involved in tomato production.
There is a wide range of tomato varieties classified into two main groups:
- The fresh consumption tomato group; indeterminate growth with round fruit;
- The canning tomato group; determinate growth with plum-shaped or elongated fruit.
Tomatoes are eaten fresh or processed. Rich in fibre, they also contain carotenoids, mainly lycopene, which is known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Figure 1: Tomato growth stages
II- TECHNICAL ITINERARY
Initiatives to adopt agro-ecological and sustainable farming practices are increasingly visible in the field, given the reality of climate change. The indications given in this fact sheet will therefore concern both conventional (intensive) and sustainable farming practices.