Evaluation of Farmers Socioeconomic Characteristics Influencing Tomato Output in District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is one of the most important and widely distributed horticultural vegetable crops in the world. It is economically attractive to farmers, due to its short duration for ripping which increases productivity. Thus, it is becoming an indispensable source of farmer’s income in Pakistan. The production of tomato has been decreased considerably during the last five years. The present study has been conducted to explore the farmer’s socio-economic characteristics, affecting the tomato production in district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A multi-stage-sampling technique and interview method were adopted for data collection. A sample of 160 tomato (Kharif) growers was drawn from 16 villages of district Peshawar. Chi-Square and Pearson Rank correlation tests were employed to find out the association and correlation between level of productivity and socio-economic characteristics of tomato growers such as education level, work involvement, family size, farming experience, age, and source of income and land size. The results showed a highly significant positive relationship of tomato production with all socio-economic factors except female involvement in the study area. Therefore, extension services and training should be fortified through extension agents for those farmers having no basic education for improving their skills and production of tomato, in turn it will contribute the demands of tomato at provincial and national level.