Résumé
Tomato has become an economically viable diversification product for the strongly rice-oriented farming system in Madagascar. As tomatoes have a relatively short shelflife, this crop is mainly grown within the vicinity of large towns such as the capital Antananarivo. It is still, however, a risk product for different stakeholders of the food commodity subsector because of its perishability and year-to-year variability in market prices. The cost-effective but risky aspect of tomatoes has prompted farmers and sellers to adopt adaptation and organization strategies. Tomato cropping and marketing calendars have been adjusted in recent years to ensure that tomatoes are marketed throughout the year, stabilize prices and secure earnings. A study of the Ambohidrazana cropping area in the hilly region east of Antananarivo indicated that farmers are, to an increasing extent, taking market variables into account when making cropping decisions. It was also noted that this commodity subsector is able to adapt to its physical environment by striving to overcome constraints to intensification and expansion of tomato cropping on poor periurban soils. The fact that farmers', supported by research, have taken the initiative to use urban waste as humus to fertilize tomato plots indicates a promising future for this subsector. Vitality is also boosted via challenges associated with product diversification and quality improvement to meet consumer demand. The tomato commodity subsector in Madagascar is striving concomitantly to diversify the diet of Malagasy people, to enhance income security for stakeholders of the subsector, in addition to the relationship between urban and rural communities