Determinants of Tomato Seed Purchasing Decisions among Coimbatore Farmers

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) typically constitutes an essential part of the daily diet and it has great demand round the year. The commercial value of tomato in terms of direct consumption, processing as well as trade has risen substantially in recent years. The top ten major tomato producing countries are China, India, USA, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Spain, Iran, Brazil and Mexico of the world area and production. China ranks first in an area under tomato 10 lakh hectares with annual production of 50 million tonnes fallowed by India ranks second in an area under 8.8 lakh hectare with annual production of 18 million tonnes. Among the tomato cultivation districts, Coimbatore district was purposively selected, which accounted tomato area of 3033 ha.  The collected data were analysed with reference to the objectives set forth for the study. The analytical techniques employed in this study are explained by Conventional (Percentage) analysis, Factor analysis, Marko chain analysis, Garrett ranking technique, Multi-dimensional scaling technique. Our study revealed that, nearly 52% of the sample farmers learned about hybrid tomato seeds via dealers, and the majority of the farmers (65%) are aware that hybrid tomato seeds exist in the Coimbatore district. Retail stores make up the majority of places to shop (76 percent). Approximately 60% of farmers favor making purchases with cash. Family members account for 71% of the information that influences a decision to purchase tomato seeds. The purchase of distinct firm seeds is influenced by several key elements, including recommendations from other farmers, prior experience, retailer insistence, advertising campaigns, and demonstrations.