Abstract
To simultaneously enhance agricultural productivity and lower negative impacts on the environment, food systems need to be much more efficient in using resources such as land, water, and fertilizer. This study examines resource use efficiency of maize production among smallholder farmers in Nyando, Kenya. The main objective is to assess the degree of technical efficiency of smallholder farmers and identify the impact of so-called “climate smart practices” on technical efficiency. The method of Stochastic Frontier Analysis is used to simultaneously estimate a stochastic production frontier and a technical inefficiency effect model. Data for 324 subplots farmed by 170 households were available for this analysis. The study reveals that maize production in Nyando is associated with mean technical efficiency of 45% and that soil conservation practices such as residue management, legume intercropping, and improved varieties significantly increase farmers’ technical efficiency. Soil carbon is found to be a critical factor of production. These results imply that there is potential to more than double production using the same resources and that soil conservation practices can be very “climate smart,” at once increasing soil carbon, production, climate resilience, and technical efficiency.
Highlights
Agriculture is portrayed as both victim and culprit in debates about global climate change
This study has revealed that maize production in the Nyando area of Kenya is associated with mean technical efficiency of 45%
We found increasing returns to scale for the average plot, which is expected given the small sizes of farm plots in the area
Summary
Agriculture is portrayed as both victim and culprit in debates about global climate change. The sector is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The characteristics of climate change include increases in mean temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, increased variability in both the onset and amount of rainfall, and more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. These changes have negative effects on agricultural yields, making it more difficult for smallholder farmers in the tropics to grow certain food crops such as maize, the main staple food for many countries in Africa. The human population of Africa is projected to grow to 1.5 billion by 2050 from its current 800 million, and this will mean greater need for food production [4]
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