Performance Measurement of Extensive Beef Cattle Farms in Botswana

This paper examines the technical efficiency of extensive beef farms in different regions of Botswana and attempts to explain differences in regional performance in terms of environmental and economic constraints. Using a panel dataset of 26 agricultural districts (distributed across six agro-ecological regions) for the period 2004 to 2012, we estimate technical efficiency (TE) indices using a standard stochastic production frontier and meta-technological gap ratios (MTR) with a meta-frontier approach. The study finds that farmers use available technology suboptimally and produce far less than potential output. The average TE indices range from as low as 0.40 for Maun, 0.71 for Western and to 0.79 for the Southern region. The mean MTR also varies substantially across regions; high for Western (0.83), Southern (0.80) and Francistown (0.79) regions and low for the Maun region (0.39). A low MTR for the Maun region is attributed to the re-occurrence of FMD and human and wildlife conflict in this region, restricting the ability of farmers to fully reach their potential output. The results of this study have important implications for policy targeting. The study results allow us to identify the differences in productive performance between beef producers in each region of Botswana, and hence where policies to improve production technologies could be focused.