Application of a stockastic frontier production function to the measurement of technical efficiency in food crop production in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to measure the level of technical efficiency and its determinants in food crop production in Imo State of Nigeria using a stochastic frontier production function. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 187 food crop farmers from the three Agricultural Zones of the State using the cost route approach. The estimated farm level technical efficiency ranges from 31.05 percent to 95.12 percent with a mean of 57.14 percent. The wide variation in the level of technical efficiency indicates that ample opportunities exist for the farmers to increase their productivity and income through improvements in technical efficiency. Credit, education, fanning experience, farm size and membership of farmers associations/cooperative societies were found to be positively and significantly related to technical efficiency while age and household size were negatively but significantly related to technical efficiency. The study found no relationship between gender and technical efficiency.