Econometric analysis of technical efficiency of pearl millet farmers in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, particularly the northern parts, pearl millet is a traditional crop that is very important to nation’s food security. Empirical evidence indicates that the main problem in pearl millet production in Nigeria is associated with low productivity and inefficiency in allocation of resources. This study therefore sought to analyse the Technical Efficiency (TE) of pearl millet farmers in Kano State of Nigeria, being the state with highest concentration of pearl millet farmers. SFA approach is used on a data collected from 256 randomly sampled pearl millet farmers during 2013/2014 cropping season. The study discovers that all the production inputs/variables included in the Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Frontier function with exception of agrochemicals were positively and significantly associated with TE. The TE range of 21% to 94% and mean TE of 73% were obtained from the analysis. The study also reveals that access to credit, education, extension and household size were the major contributors to TE. This therefore calls for formulation of appropriate policy that would extend these key determinants of TE which would go a long way in improving farmers’ efficiency level and economic benefits. This study contributes the first SFA approach in estimating TE of pearl millet farmers in Kano State, Nigeria, which can effectively help in addressing food insecurity problem in the country.

Analysis of Factors Influencing Output and Cost of Soybean Production: A Comparison between Contract and Non-contract Farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana

“…This also means that if all other parameters remain constant, a 100 percent increase in all factors of production will result in an 81 percent increase in soybean yield for both CF and NCF. This result agrees with [46] who reported decreasing returns to scale, but differs from the findings of [12], [47], and [5].…”

Analysis of the Factors Influencing Technical Efficiency in Integrated Crop-Livestock Farming System in Kaduna State, Nigeria

“…Hence, the farmers can minimize on average 11% of their used inputs coupled with the existing technology and still achieve the same level of output. Mukhtar, Mohamed, Shamsuddin, Sharifuddin and Iliyasu (2018), in application of data envelopment analysis for technical efficiency of smallholder pearl millet farmers in Kano state used VRS input-oriented model. The result of their findings indicates that, the farmers were inefficient with an average value of TE under VRS as 0.81.…”

“…Thus, they could not read and understand the instructions given for a proper application of these inputs which ultimately led to their excess usage on the farms. Mukhtar et al (2018) inefficiency could be caused by either misallocation of resources or inappropriate scale. Misallocation of resources refers to inefficient input combinations while inappropriate scale on the other hand refers to failure of a farm to take advantage of economies of scale.…”

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“…Farmers who have large family sizes tend to try their best to get higher yields to meet the needs of their families. In addition, large family sizes have the workforce needed to implement agricultural management decisions [22].…”