Technical Efficiency Analysis of Rainfed maize production in Yola North and Yola South Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria
Abdul, M.1; Obatoyinbo, A2. & Tashikalma, A.K.3
1National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), 4, Abidoye Lane, Behind Flower Garden, GR.A. Ilorin
2Pubic Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN), Abuja-Kubwa Express Way, Dutse Alhaji Junction, Abuja
3Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Moddibo Adama University of Technology, Yola
Email: fatymusty2011@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The study analyzed the technical efficiency of rainfed maize production in Yola North and Yola South Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 128 respondents. Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Results from socio-economic variables revealed that 76.56% of the respondents were below 50 years with mean age of 39 years and 72% of the farmers were male. Farmers’ literacy level was high, as 85.12% of them had some form of formal education with house hold size of 9 persons. The farmers cultivated an average of about two hectares of land and used personal savings as their major source of finance. The results of the maximum likelihood estimate of the parameters of production function revealed that all the independent variables were significant in varying levels except family labour. The technical efficiency indices ranged from 0.38 to 0.98 with a mean value of 0.77 implying that an average farmer in the area has the scope for increasing technical efficiency by 23% given the existing technology. Major problems identified were insufficient fund, high cost of labour and high cost of fertilizer among others. The study recommends provision of adequate farm inputs and essential services to rainfed maize farmers.
Keywords: Technical efficiency, rainfed, maize production, Yola, Adamawa, Nigeria
