Socioeconomic dynamics of tomato trading and the challenges facing small-scale traders in Chinsali District, Zambia

Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) trading plays a vital role in supporting rural livelihoods and contributing to household food security. This study examined the socioeconomic opportunities and challenges faced by tomato traders in the district. Primary data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires administered to traders, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The majority of traders were women (77.5%), predominantly aged between 20 and 30 years, and more than half (57.5%) had attained primary education. Women were found to be earning more on average than men through tomato trading. Income generation was the primary motivation for engaging in tomato trading (45%), with most traders (70%) relying on personal savings as their main source of start-up capital. The main opportunities identified were high consumer demand (35.4%) and access to new markets (29.2%), whereas poor market infrastructure (28.8%) and high transportation costs (21.2%) were the major challenges. Traders highlighted the need for financial support (53.3%) and improved infrastructure (33.3%) to enhance operations. The results indicated a statistically significant association between education level and weekly income ( χ 2 (6) = 37.638, p < 0.001). Similarly, a statistically significant association was observed between gender and weekly income ( χ 2 (3) = 22.456, p < 0.001). Given that tomato traders are predominantly young women with low levels of formal education, the findings suggest that access to credit and vocational capacity-building interventions should be specifically targeted at young and female traders to improve incomes and enhance the sustainability of tomato trading in rural Zambia.