Technical Efficiency among Women Cassava Small Holder Farmers in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate resource use efficiency of women cassava producers in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. A multi stage random sampling technique was used to select 120 women farmers in the local government in the year 2013. Percentage response was used to determine the farmers' socioeconomic characteristics, stochastic frontier and simultaneously, its' determinant were addressed using the maximum likelihood methods. The results of the study show that level of education, farming experience and extension contact were positive and significantly related to technical efficiency while credit access had inverse relationship with technical efficiency. The mean technical efficiency was 0.56, the maximum efficiency was 0.97, while the minimum was 0.23. Policies aimed at encouraging both new entrant and older farmers into farming through provision of improved production inputs and as well as increasing farmers' access to extension contact and educational programmes were therefore recommended.

Effect of Cassava Processing to the Environment in South East, Nigeria - Implication on Adoption of Cassava Processing Technology

“…Processing in agriculture generally according to studies [2,4,7] is an idoor activities and often female sterotyped, while males are involved in farming. This finding did not concur with [1,4], who posited that males can afford the financial and labor-intensiveness of the business [3; 7]. Furthermore, most of the respondents in different cassava processing forms as shown in Table 1 were less than 40 years of age, while only 33.4%, 23%, 20% and 33.4% of gari, fufu, tapioca and flour respectively were above 40 years.…”

“…The poor access of the processors to credit could be ascribed to high interest rates charged by bankers and short period of loan repayment [29]. Credit helps processors in acquiring materials inputs to be used in adoption of free environmental cassava processing in order to curtail maximally environment degradation [1]. As well, only 80% and 70% of the gari and flour processors were members of different organizations, while 80% and 70 % of the fufu and tapioca respectively were not.…”

“…Cassava was a famine reserve crop as it is source of ease and reliable source of food during drought and hunger periods, but today a staple food and cash crop for global industrial uses [1,2]. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), apart from being the fifth most important food crop in the world, but has effectively integrated into many farming and food systems in the continents where it is cultivated [2].Africa produces over 54% of the world's cassava with Nigeria having the highest global production of about 54.8 million metric tonnes in 2014 [3].…”

“…Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), apart from being the fifth most important food crop in the world, but has effectively integrated into many farming and food systems in the continents where it is cultivated [2].Africa produces over 54% of the world's cassava with Nigeria having the highest global production of about 54.8 million metric tonnes in 2014 [3]. Cassava is grown in all agroecological zones of Nigeria but production is highest in the North-Central, South East and South South regions [4,5].The cassava crop inclination to smallholder farmers in the continent could be attributed to its possession of high productivity under adverse conditions, all-year-round availability as well as its wide adaptability to various farming and food systems [1,8]. Furthermore, it is an important industrial raw material and source of income for marketers, processors and labourers [6,7].…”

“…Cassava processing related pollution control is complicated especially in most rural areas of Sub Saharan Africa, and reasons often deduced among literatures, including; most processors are in the region are resource poor (financial and technical resources) to manage wastes and lax in government agencies to enforce environmental pollution laws because of among others corruption and logistic problem [1,10,11]. Furthermore, the incapacitation of the countries in that region to develop low-cost treatment processes for small-and medium-scale cassava processors taking cognizance of our low technological endeavor [20,21].…”