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Technical change through crop improvement: are there synergies or tradeoffs in land productivity and efficiency?

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  • Abro, Z.A.
  • Debela, B.L.

Abstract

The impact of technical change on land productivity has been subject to rigorous analysis. However, the implication of technical change on synergies or tradeoffs in productivity and efficiency has been rarely quantified. We contribute to the technology adoption literature by studying the joint impact of technical change-changes in crop traits obtained through continuous breeding research-on land productivity and efficiency in rural Ethiopia. We estimate an endogenous switching translog production function using two rounds of panel data. Our results reveal that technical change increases both productivity and efficiency. But the gains in efficiency are quite small indicating that technical change may need to be supported by other complementary policy instruments that improve the efficiency of new improved varieties technologies. We also find that the average farmer is 40% inefficient in inputs use given the production technology. Future research may need to focus on identifying suitable technologies that contribute towards closing the observed inefficiency. Acknowledgement :

Suggested Citation

  • Abro, Z.A. & Debela, B.L., 2018. "Technical change through crop improvement: are there synergies or tradeoffs in land productivity and efficiency?," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277086, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae18:277086
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.277086
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