Plummeting tomato prices have left farmers with little incentive to harvest their crops, highlighting the need for greater investment in cold storage, processing and value addition to protect produce and farm incomes.
The challenge was highlighted by tomato farmer Emmanuel Munthari in Lusaka’s Makeni area, where more than 300 boxes of tomatoes were left to rot after prices at Soweto Market fell to between K5 and K15 a box. Munthari said the prevailing prices were insufficient to cover the cost of transporting the produce to market, including fuel, making it uneconomical to move the tomatoes from the farm.
The situation brought Zambia’s post-harvest infrastructure gap into sharper focus, particularly for highly perishable crops that have limited shelf life and depend heavily on access to reliable markets. Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Principal Public Relations Officer Virginia Chilongo said the government was implementing measures to help small-scale farmers reduce post-harvest losses.
Through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC), the government is providing support for cold storage facilities, agro-processing and agricultural mechanisation, with the aim of helping farmers preserve produce and increase opportunities for value addition. For tomato producers, expanded cold-chain infrastructure could provide greater flexibility when fresh-market prices weaken, allowing produce to be stored for longer rather than forcing farmers to sell immediately or leave crops unharvested.
The processing opportunity is equally significant. Buy Zed Campaign founder Evans Ngoma has called for faster investment in tomato paste and purée processing to create an additional market for locally produced tomatoes. Developing domestic processing capacity could help absorb seasonal surpluses while creating demand beyond the fresh-produce market. It could also strengthen linkages between farmers, processors, distributors and retailers within the local agricultural value chain.
Ngoma has further called for higher taxes on imported tomato concentrate that is repackaged and marketed as “Made in Zambia”, arguing that stronger measures are needed to support local processing. The tomato market illustrates a broader challenge facing agricultural producers. Increased production does not automatically translate into stronger farm incomes when storage, processing, transport and market access remain limited.
With the growing agricultural sector, reducing post-harvest losses will therefore require investment beyond the farm gate. Cold storage, processing facilities and reliable distribution networks can help convert seasonal production into products with longer commercial value, while giving farmers more options when fresh-market conditions deteriorate.
Strengthening these links could also support greater private-sector investment in tomato production and processing, helping build a value chain capable of capturing more value from crops that might otherwise be lost after harvest.
