Vol. 9(1), pp. 1-13, January, 2021.

ISSN: 2384-6151

DOI: 10.14662/IJEBM2020.125

 

 

Full Length Research

 

Technical Efficiency of Maize Production in  MeskanWoreda of Gurage Zone

 

Muluken Philipos^1* and TewodrosTefera (PhD)²

 

¹Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Agricultural Economics Research Directory, P. O. Box 2003, Addis Ababa.

²Hawassa University, School of Environment, Gender and Development Studies, P. O. Box 05, Hawassa.

E-mail: natinard.philip1@gmail.com

 

Accepted 30 January 20201

Abstract

 

The study empirically examined the current levels of technical efficiency of maize farmers in the study area using cross sectional data collected from 150 households by employing multistage sampling technique. Cobb-Douglass stochastic production frontier model was used to predict farm level efficiency using Maximum Likelihood Method for technical efficiency estimation. Furthermore, the effects of some socio-economic variables on efficiency were estimated and compared based on the results obtained from the analysis. Besides this, Descriptive statistics were used in analysing the socio economic variables of the study. The study revealed that inefficiency in the maize production system exists. The mean technical efficiency of the pooled sample is 49%. The result shows that Seed used, and Extension contact were positively related to technical efficiency and significant at less than 1% level of significance. Education and good soil was positively related to technical efficiency and significant at 5%. Gender and family size was positively related to technical efficiency and significant at 10%. Results of the stochastic frontier production function showed that variance parameters gamma (γ) and sigma (δ2) are both significant at 1% level. The study showed that technical efficiency in farm production among the farmers could be increased by through better use of available resources. Therefore, it is recommended that government should do the intensive on-farm training since farmers mainly depend on trial and error method of production and farmers` should have access to enough arable land, if possible and the advantage of using full packaged recommendations. Hence, farmers need to be trained on matters relating to fertilizer application, on the amount of seed rate that farmers should apply per ha and the importance of using hybrid seed.

 

Key words: Technical Efficiency, cobb-douglass, production function.

 

Cite This Article As: Muluken P., Tewodros, T (2021). Technical Efficiency of Maize Production in MeskanWoreda of Gurage Zone.Inter. J. Econ. Bus. Manage. 9(1): 1-13