Economic efficiency of smallholder okra (Abelmoschus species) production in Kaduna State, Nigeria: Implication for poverty alleviation

Abstract

This study evaluated economic efficiency of smallholder okra (Abelmoschus species) production in Kaduna State, Nigeria: Implication for poverty alleviation. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 smallholder okra farmers. Primary sources of data were used. Data were analyzed using farm budgetary technique, financial analysis, stochastic production frontier model, allocative efficiency model, economic efficiency model, Tobit dichotomous regression model, and principal component model. The results show that the mean age of smallholder okra farmers was 43 years. Averagely, okra farmers had 1.8 hectares of farm land. The gross margin and net farm income of okra production per hectare was estimated at 619,325.77 Naira and 559, 194.76 Naira respectively. This signifies that the smallholder okra production was profitable. The mean technical, economic, and allocative efficiency scores were 0.7918, 0.5338, and 0.8345 respectively. The socio-economic factors influencing economic efficiency of smallholder okra production include: age (P<0.01), educational level (P< 0.10), marital status (P< 0.01), household size (P <0.01), farm size (P<0.01), and member of cooperative organization (P<0.05). The major constraints encountered by okra producers were lack of farm inputs, lack of credit facilities, and high cost of labour. The study recommended that farmers should be provided with improved variety of seeds, chemicals, credit facilities, and fertilizer inputs in order to increase their productivity and efficiency.