Current Tomato Seed Management Practices Among in- and out-of-School Youth in Kamuli, Uganda

Seed is a critical input to grow crops successfully and contribute to food security.  High quality seeds are essential for small-landholder farmers who produce tomatoes in the developing world.  In- and out-of-school youth often lack agriculture production skills and inputs, including seeds.  A research project determined tomato seed management practices used by youth farmers in the Kamuli District, Uganda.  Surveys were administered to 60 in- and out-of-school youth in summer of 2015 and included only those youth who grew tomatoes and were part of the Iowa State University, Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) in Uganda. The YEP program teaches in- and out-of-school youth about entrepreneurship and crop and livestock production and management practices.  Preliminary results indicated that 35% of youth survey respondents saved seed, while 65% did not.  Most youth tomato growers received knowledge about seed saving from fellow farmers.  Of those youth saving seed, most did not track which tomato cultivars they saved.  Among those who could identify cultivars, open-pollinated Rio Grande was the cultivar most commonly saved.  Saved seeds were stored in plastic containers and kept in the main house where youth lived.  They controlled for seed borne disease by dusting seed with kitchen ash and did not use protective clothing or gear if they used fungicides.  Youth farmers agreed with the statement that they can save money and reproduce a desired cultivar with seed, but had inadequate knowledge about seed-saving techniques, which also was the most common reason for not saving seeds.  Saving seed can be a sustainable production option for farmers growing non-hybrid tomatoes and Kamuli District youth who have limited funds for agricultural inputs.  Based on these results, Iowa State University YEP program should include education about proper seed saving techniques.  The quality of available seed at affordable prices in the Kamuli market also should be improved to benefit youth farmers currently not saving seed.