**7. Conclusions**

It is evident that off-season tomato cultivation is profitable and has significant impact on the consumption expenditure and food security status of the farmers. Based on the results, a number of policy implications can be drawn. More investment in research and development is needed from both donor and government agencies to develop resistant varieties of off-season tomato since the farmers reported that frequent attack of insects and diseases was the main constraint of off-season tomato cultivation. Efforts are needed to disseminate the off-season tomato cultivation technique to different parts of the country. Cost of production is higher for off-season tomato cultivation compared to winter season tomato cultivation. Steps to diversify sources of income as well as access to low interest credit can increase the availability of capital. Higher income may have a positive effect on reducing poverty in the country. Higher consumption expenditure and food security status may play a vital role in reducing malnutrition. Thus, there is a need for promoting the role of off-season tomato cultivation in anti-poverty programs, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh.

#### **Acknowledgements**

The authors are grateful to farmers and the enumerators for their cooperation during data collection. The authors are grateful to the Social Science Research Council, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, People's Republic of Bangladesh for financial support to conduct the study.

### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

*Impact of Off-Season Summer Tomato Cultivation on Income and Food Security of the Growers DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93674*
