Efficiency Of Smallholder Farmers Research Articles

Does cooperative membership impact the yield and efficiency of smallholder farmers? Evidence from potato farmers in Mongolia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency.Design/methodology/approachA combination of propensity score matching technique and sample selection stochastic frontier framework that addresses potential selection bias due to observable and unobservable attributes is used to estimate the effect of participation between cooperative members and non-members. Using a stochastic meta-frontier approach, the technical efficiency of farmers was estimated and compared.FindingsThe empirical results show that the effect of participation in agricultural cooperatives is associated with increased yield and technical efficiency. A comparison of group-specific frontiers indicates that cooperative members perform better than non-members. Cooperative membership decisions is significantly associated with household and farm characteristics (e.g. education, participation in off-farm work, total farmland, distance to market and geographic location).Practical implicationsThe findings of this study demonstrate that cooperative organisations can be an important tool to enhance the productivity and efficiency of smallholder farmers. Successful cooperative models together with training programs designed to enlighten farmers on the importance and tangible benefits of collective action should be used to enlarge participation in cooperative organisations. In addition, governments and development agencies should implement targeted investment and capacity building programs related to irrigation management, gender-sensitive awareness and development of the internal institutional mechanisms in cooperatives for the transfer of knowledge and mutual learning so that all members benefit from cooperatives.Originality/valueDespite the pervasive evidence of the impact of cooperatives on productivity and technical efficiency in the Asian region, this study is probably the first attempt in the crop sector in Mongolia. It provides a rigorous empirical analysis of the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency through a counterfactual design.

Economic Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Teff Production: The Case of Enemay District, East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Agriculture remains to be the most important sector of the Ethiopian economy and teff is one of the dominant crops which is produced at less efficient level in the study area. This means that it is possible to obtain additional output from existing inputs used, if resource are properly used and efficiently allocated. The aim of this study was to assess the economic efficiency of smallholder teff producers and identify factors affecting efficiency of smallholder farmers in teff production of Enemay District, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. A two-stage sampling technique was employed to select 197 sample farmers who were interviewed using a structured schedule to obtain data pertaining to teff production during 2018/2019 production season. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels, whereas Tobit model was used to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sample farmers. The estimated results showed that the mean technical, allocative and economic efficiencies were 81%, 11% and 9%, respectively which indicates the significant inefficiency in teff production in the study area. Among factors hypothesized to determine the level of efficiencies, education, soil fertility, credit and teff production experience were the positively significant determinants of technical and economic efficiencies of teff producing farmers; while frequency of extension contact had a positive relationship with technical efficiency. In addition, cultivated land determined farmers’ technical, allocative and economic efficiencies negatively and significantly. Whereas distance to market determined technical and economic efficiencies negatively. The result indicated that there is a room to increase the efficiency of teff producers in the study area. Hence, emphasis should be given to improve the efficiency level of those less efficient farmers by adopting the practices of relatively efficient farmers in the area. Beside this, policies and strategies of the government should be directed towards the above mentioned determinants. Keywords: Teff, efficiency, Cobb-Douglas, Stochastic frontier, Tobit DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/68-04 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

Review on Economic Efficiency of Smallholders Farmers in the Production of Sesame: The Case of Ethiopia

The objective of this study is to review economic efficiency of smallholder farmers in sesame production in Ethiopia. Specifically, the review examines levels of Technical, Allocative and Economic efficiencies of sesame producer; and to review factors affecting efficiency of smallholder farmers in the study area. For this study both published and unpublished sources were used. Also, the study reviewed various functional forms that were fitted to estimate Technical, Allocative and Economic efficiencies levels and model that were fitted to estimate factor affecting efficiency of smallholder farmers. The review results indicate Cob-Douglas function and Translog functional form are alternative methods for evaluating efficiencies and were used for purposes of comparison; OLS is mainly used if the inefficiency scores are not truncated or censored for a specific value; Tobit regression approach is preferred over the OLS regression in the case of censored data. The review results indicate as there is a room to increase the efficiency of sesame producers. Variables such as non-farm income and credit access, experience in sesame production, distance of sesame farm from residence, education level and extension contact had major significant impact on Technical, Allocative and Economic efficiency. In order to improve efficiency of smallholder farmers in sesame production in Ethiopia, give consideration to the above mentioned socio economic and institutional factors is needed. Focusing on efficient use of existing resources and addressing the socio-economic and institutional factors by using existing technology and given input levels are crucial and relevant policy issues are recommended. Strengthening the existing livestock production system, credit access, agricultural extension system and invest in the provision of basic education to smallholder farmers are advisable.

English

The main objective of this study is to examine the level and determinants of technical efficiency of smallholder Teff producers in Ethiopia using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), with appropriate production function, trans-log by LR test. Secondary data from Ethiopian socio-economic survey were used for the analysis. The result of Maximum likelihood Estimate (MLE) shows that area, fertilizer and fragmentation of land are major factors that influence productivity, and output elasticity has positive response on area, labour and fertilizer inputs. The average estimated technical efficiency of small holder farmers ranges from 0.13 to 0.92%, with mean efficiency of 73%. This implies that Teff productivity can be increased by 27% at existing level of technology. The result also shows there is inefficiency in production of Teff since discrepancy ratio gamma, γ is high and about 0.85. The study also identified that agro-ecology zones, age, extension, seed type, other income are the major socio economic factors influencing efficiency. Finally, the study recommends that policy geared towards the enhancement of productive efficiency of smallholder, through the appropriate consideration of inputs, socio economic factors and other facilities are important to address problem of food insecurity in Ethiopia. Key words: Teff, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier, agro-ecological zone, maximum likelihood estimate, Ethiopia.  

Analysis of Price Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Maize Production in Gudeya Bila District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia: Stochastic, Dual Cost approach

Even if Ethiopia had adopted different strategy and policies the productivity of agricultural production is not as meet the demand of the peoples. The aim of this study was to analyze productivity and price efficiency of smallholder farmers in maize production in the study area. To meet the stated objectives primary data were collected using structured questionnaires from 154 randomly selected sample households during the 2017/18 production year. Copdoglous production function was applied to analysis productivity where as dual cost is used to estimate price efficiency. Tobit model was used to identify factors affecting price efficiency level. Price efficiency were 70.06%. Thus the results reveal exists considerable levels of price inefficiencies in maize production in study area. The Tobit model results revealed that livestock holding and participation in off/non-farm activities had positive effect and distance of maize plot from home were found to had negative effect on price efficiency The result indicated that there exists a room to increase the price efficiency of maize producers in the study area. For realizing significant price efficiency gains policies and strategies of the government should be directed towards increasing farmer’s livestock holding and promoting off/non-farm activities.

Analysis of Price Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Maize Production in Gudeya Bila District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia: Stochastic, Dual Cost approach

Even if Ethiopia had adopted different strategy and policies the productivity of agricultural production is not as meet the demand of the peoples. The aim of this study was to analyze productivity and price efficiency of smallholder farmers in maize production in the study area. To meet the stated objectives primary data were collected using structured questionnaires from 154 randomly selected sample households during the 2017/18 production year. Copdoglous production function was applied to analysis productivity where as dual cost is used to estimate price efficiency. Tobit model was used to identify factors affecting price efficiency level. Price efficiency were 70.06%. Thus the results reveal exists considerable levels of price inefficiencies in maize production in study area. The Tobit model results revealed that livestock holding and participation in off/non-farm activities had positive effect and distance of maize plot from home were found to had negative effect on price efficiency The result indicated that there exists a room to increase the price efficiency of maize producers in the study area. For realizing significant price efficiency gains policies and strategies of the government should be directed towards increasing farmer’s livestock holding and promoting off/non-farm activities. Keywords: Dual cost, Cobb-Douglas, Tobit DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-8-02 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Review on Economic Efficiency of Maize Production in Ethiopia

Despite the fact that, agriculture remains to be the most significant sector of the Ethiopian economy, its performance has been disappointing and food production has been lagging behind population growth. Although increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have aggravated the food insecurity situation by widening the gap between the demand for and supply of food in the country. This gap can be decreased by improving productivity either through the introduction of modern technologies or improving the efficiency of crop production. However, as the possibility to enhance production by bringing more resources into use became more and more limited, the efficiency with which the farmers use available resources has received the greatest attention. Since maize is a significant contributor to the Ethiopian economy, escalating productivity and efficiency of maize production could be taken as an important step in achieving food security. This review was aimed at assessing the levels of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of smallholder maize producers; and to identify factors affecting the efficiency of smallholder farmers in maize production in Ethiopia. In these review factors like education, land fragmentation, livestock ownership, a frequency of extension contact, soil fertility, off/non-farm activities, sex, land owned, credit utilization and perception on agricultural policy are identified as the key determinants of the economic efficiency of maize production in Ethiopia. The frequency distribution of technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels was not fairly distributed. The maize farms were being operated in a different level of efficiency. This implies that a large number of maize farmers in Ethiopia faced inefficiency problems. Keywords: Maize, Economic efficiency, Determinants, Ethiopia DOI : 10.7176/FSQM/84-04

ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION: THE CASE OF ABUNA GINDEBERET DISTRICT, WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Yield enhancement through increasing efficiency in cereal production in general and in wheat production in particular could be an important way towards achieving food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of smallholder wheat producers; and to identify factors affecting efficiency of smallholder farmers in wheat production. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 152 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2016/17 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Stochastic production frontier approach and two limit Tobit model was employed. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as mineral fertilizers, land and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of wheat output. The estimated mean values of technical, allocative and economic efficiency were 78, 80 and 63% respectively, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in wheat production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by sex of the household head, education, extension contact, off/non-farm activity and soil fertility but negatively affected by land fragmentation. Similarly, age, education, extension contacts and off/non-farm activity positively and significantly affected allocative efficiency. In addition, economic efficiency positively and significantly affected by sex, age, education, extension contact, off/non-farm activity and soil fertility. The policy measures derived from the results include: expansion of education, strengthening the existing extension services, establish and/or strengthening the existing off/non-farm activities and strengthening soil conservation practices in the study area.

Do farmer groups impact on farm yield and efficiency of smallholder farmers? Evidence from rice farmers in northern Ghana

Multiple production and marketing challenges facing smallholder farmers in developing countries have resulted in renewed interests of governments, donor agencies and private agribusiness companies in forming farmer groups to help address these challenges. Using recent survey data of 412 smallholder rice farmers from northern Ghana, we examine the role of farmer groups in improving yield and technical efficiency. Due to self-selection into farmer groups, we use a sample selection stochastic production frontier model to account for potential selection bias arising from observed and unobserved attributes. The empirical results reveal that participation in farmer groups is associated with increased yield and technical efficiency, relative to farmers who produce and market rice individually. Moreover, the yield and efficiency gaps between group members and nonmembers increase significantly when selection bias is taken into account in the analysis.

Fertiliser Subsidy and Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Selected Districts in the Transitional and the Guinea Savannah Zones of Ghana

The study examined the impact of Ghana’s fertiliser subsidy programme on maize output and technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in Ghana. Several null hypotheses were tested based on data gathered from a sample of three hundred and fifty-two (352) farmers drawn from two of Ghana’s five agro-ecological zones, the Transition zone and the Guinea savannah zone. Both a probit and stochastic frontier models were used to estimate the determinants of access by farmers to fertiliser subsidy and to assess the impact of the fertiliser subsidy programme on maize output and technical efficiency, respectively. Among others, the study found that age, sex, education, access to improved seed, off farm activities, political influence and distance to the nearest fertiliser retail shop influence farmers’ access to subsidised fertiliser. The study also revealed that access to subsidised fertiliser was low (42.3%) although it positively increases maize output in both Guinea savannah and Transition zones. The study estimated mean TEs of 68.7% and 68.9% in the Transition and the Guinea savannah zones respectively. Also, access to subsidy was found to decrease TE of smallholder farmers in both zones significantly. It is therefore concluded that access to subsidised fertiliser has a mix effect on maize output and needs further investigation.

A COMPARATIVE STOCHASTIC FRONTIER ANALYSIS OF IRRIGATED AND RAIN-FED POTATO FARMS IN EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Irrigation development has been considered as one of the viable strategies for achieving food security. Accordingly, the government of Ethiopia has been increasing water resource development and utilization. However, to what extent the irrigation users are better off than rainfall dependent counterparts on their technical effi ciency (TE) and variability in productivity among the farmers is not well known. Therefore, this study compared the technical effi ciency of farmers who are producing potato under irrigation and through rainfall in Eastern Ethiopia. Propensity Score Matching was applied to select irrigated farms with comparable attributes to rain-fed farms to see the true effi ciency diff erences between the two groups. Cobb-Douglas production function was fi tted using the stochastic production frontier for both irrigated and rain fed farming. The result indicated that irrigated farms have high ineffi ciencies compared with the rain-fed farms. This indicates the existence of considerable potential for increasing output by improving the effi ciency of irrigated farms than rain-fed farms. Among the factors hypothesized to determine the level of TE, landholding, family size and extension contact were found to have a signifi cant eff ect on irrigated farms whereas, landholding, non/off income, farm income, livestock size and extension contact were the determinants in rain-fed farms. This indicates that factors that aff ect technical effi - ciency in irrigated farms are not necessarily the same as rain fed farms. Therefore, it is important to consider both farms groups in evaluating strategies aimed at improving technical effi ciency of smallholder farmers