Efficiency of Fluted Pumpkin Production Under Tropical Conditions

Abstract

The efficient allocation of resources at the individual farm level has implications for investment and employment at the national level. It is also the indicator by which success of production units are evaluated. When measured correctly, it makes it easier to separate its effect from the effects of the production environment thereby enabling the enactment of sound policies by which farm level performance could be improved. The study examined the technical and allocative efficiency of Fluted Pumpkin (Telfaira occidentalis Hook F.) producers, along with socioeconomic variables affecting their performance. A random sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents from six of 18 Local Governments in Edo State, Nigeria. A modified cost route approach was used to collect primary data from producers. Descriptive statistics, as well as a stochastic frontier production function, were used to analyze the data, and estimate the efficiency of producers. None of the producers were technically efficient, and the technical efficiency estimates varied from 0.65 to 0.82, with a mean of 0.75. There is potential to increase yield by about 25% if producers were more efficient. Producers were efficient in allocation of resources for weeding, but underutilized labor especially in harvesting. Age, educational status, and farming experience influenced level of inefficiency among producers.