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Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania

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  • Baha, Michael
  • Temu, Andrew
  • Philip, Damas

Abstract

Maize yield in Tanzania has been decreasing in the past few years. The decline has been attributed to many factors. This paper assesses production efficiency and its determinants among maize farmers in Babati district. The paper uses data collected from 122 maize farmers residing in six villages in the study district. A stochastic frontier model has been used to determine the sources of inefficiency among maize farmers in the study area. The results show that the mean technical efficiency score for famers in the study area is 62.3%. This implies that there is a significant room for increasing maize yield in the study area if farmers use the resources at their disposal efficiently. Moreover, the results show that the efficiency of maize farmers in the study area is influenced by farm size, formal education, number of plots owned by the farmer, frequency of contacts with extension officers, and the use of insecticides. It is therefore plausible to argue that improving farmers’ access to extension services and important inputs such as insecticides will have a significant influence on maize yield in the study area.

Suggested Citation

  • Baha, Michael & Temu, Andrew & Philip, Damas, 2013. "Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 1(2), July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afjecr:264287
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.264287
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Msuya, Elibariki Emmanuel & Hisano, Shuji & Nariu, Tatsuhiko, 2008. "Explaining Productivity Variation among Smallholder Maize Farmers in Tanzania," MPRA Paper 14626, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    3. Tchale, Hardwick & Sauer, Johannes, 2007. "The efficiency of maize farming in Malawi. A bootstrapped translog frontier," Cahiers d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales (CESR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 82.
    4. Hardwick Tchale & Johannes Sauer, 2007. "The efficiency of maize farming in Malawi. A bootstrapped translog frontier," Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 82, pages 33-56.
    5. Unknown, 2013. "2013 July, Volume 5, Issue 1," COSBAE Newsletter, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Committee on the Opportunities and Status of Blacks in Agricultural Economics (COSBAE), pages 1-4, July.
    6. Hardwick Tchale & Johannes Sauer, 2007. "The efficiency of maize farming in Malawi. A bootstrapped translog frontier," Post-Print hal-01201145, HAL.
    7. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    8. Thomas Masterson, 2007. "Productivity, Technical Efficiency, and Farm Size in Paraguayan Agriculture," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_490, Levy Economics Institute.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ndem Chijioke, Uteh Akaninyene, 2018. "Profitability of Improved Seed Adoption on Small Holders Maize Farmers in Abuja Nigeria," Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 4(4), pages 71-81, December.
    2. Gusha, B. & Palmer, A.R. & Villano, R.A., 2018. "Performance of livestock production in north eastern cape communal areas: a stochastic frontier analysis," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277555, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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