Does sending farmers back to school increase technical efficiency of maize production? Impact assessment of a farmer field school programme in Indonesia

Abstract

A farmer field school programme aims to impart knowledge and promote new technology. The programme is expected to enhance farmers’ performances. However, the empirical evidence remains unclear. A few studies have examined the impact of this programme on technical efficiency in Indonesia. The current study specifically investigates the causal impact of the Farmer Field School of Integrated Crop Management (FFS-ICM) programme on technical efficiency of maize production in Indonesia. We used a stochastic production frontier model and propensity score matching (PSM) to examine the causal impact of FFS-ICM on the technical efficiency of maize production. The results show that the average farm technical efficiency is 68.3%, which suggests that the production can be further improved. The PSM estimation indicates that FFS-ICM increased the technical efficiency by 1.48%, demonstrating the importance of agricultural extension programmes in rural areas in Indonesia. Nevertheless, the relatively small estimated impact raises the issue of cost effectiveness of the programme.