Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda

Getachew Fikadu; Gemechu Mulatu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

| Peer-Reviewed

Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda

Getachew Fikadu, Gemechu Mulatu

Published in International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 8, Issue 5)

Received: 20 January 2023 Accepted: 25 July 2023 Published: 9 October 2023

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

In Ethiopia, increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have contributed a lot to the food security problems by widening the gap between demand for and supply of food. Increasing productivity in crop production, which among others could be possible by enhancing the level of technical efficiency, is an important step towards enlightening food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical efficiencies of smallholder potato producer and to identify factors affecting efficiency performances of smallholder farmers in potato production in Welmera district, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 150 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2019/20 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical efficiency levels, whereas a two-limit Tobit model was employed to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sampled farmers. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land, mineral fertilizers and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of potato output. The estimated mean values of technical efficiency were 73.7%, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in potato production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by age, education, farming experience, TLU, seeding/hoeing frequency, extension contact, frequency of agronomic practice training, access to cooperative, loan, access to work party/Debo, but negatively affected by land fragmentation. In general, the result indicated that there is a room to increase technical efficiency and thereby to increase productivity of potato producers in the study area.

Published in	International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 8, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
Page(s)	182-196
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cobb-Douglas, Technical Efficiency, Ethiopia, Smallholder, Stochastic Frontier, Ethiopia

References

[1]	Ahmed Kasim Dube et al., (2018). Technical efficiency and profitability of potato production by smallholder farmers: The case of Dinsho District, Bale Zone of Ethiopia.
[2]	Aigner, D. J. and Chu, S. F. (1968). Estimating the industry production function. American Journal of Economic Review, 58 (4): 826-839.
[3]	Aigner, D. J., Lovell, C. A. and Schmidt, P. 1977. Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models. Journal of Economics, 6 (1): 21-37.
[4]	Coelli J. and G. E Battesse.(1995). A Model of Technical Efficiency Effects in a Stochastic Frontier Function for Panel Data. Empirical Economics, 20: 325-332.
[5]	Coelli, T. J., Rao, D. S. and Battese, G. E. (1998). Introducción to efficiency and production analysis. Kluwer Academic Publisher, USA..
[6]	Coelli, T. J. (1996). A guide to FRONTIER version 4.1: a computer program for frontier production function estimation. CEPA Working Paper 96/07, Department of Econometrics, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
[7]	Coelli, T. J. and Battese, G. E. (2005). An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis, 2nd Edition. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.
[8]	CSA (Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia) (2018). Agricultural Sample Survey 2017/18 (2010 E. C.).
[9]	CSA (Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia) (2010). The federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency Agricultural Sample Survey 2009/2010. Volume I: report on area and production of major crops. Statistical bulletin, Addis Ababa.
[10]	Farrell, M. J. 1957. The Measurement of Production Efficiency. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 120: 253 – 290.
[11]	Greene, W. H. (1980). Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Econometric Frontier Function. Journal of Econometrics, 13 (1): 27-56.
[12]	Meeusen, J., and Broeck, V. (1977). Efficiency estimation from Cobb Douglas production Functions with composed error. International Economic Review, 18 (2): 435-444.
[13]	Moges Desaale (2017) Technical efficiency in teff production: the case of smallholder farmers in jamma district, south Wollo zone, Ethiopia.
[14]	Tijani A. A (2006). Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Rice Farms in Ijesha Land of Osun State, Nigeria. Agrekon 2 (2): 169-178.
[15]	Tortosa-Ausina, E. 2002a. Exploring efficiency differences over time in the Spanish banking industry. European Journal of Operation Research, 139 (3): 643-664.
[16]	Wubishet Jenbere Senbeta (2018) Technical Efficiency of Potato Production by Smallholder Farmers: The Case of Dinsho District, Bale Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
[17]	Wudineh Getahun et al., (2017). Technical efficiency determinants of potato production: A study of rain-fed and irrigated smallholder farmers in Ambo district, Oromia, Ethiopia.
[18]	Beneberu Teferra, Belaineh Legesse, Jema Haji Mohammed, Girma Tesfahun (2018) Farm Level Efficiency of Crop Production in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia, American Journal of Rural Development, 2018, Vol. 6, No. 2, 49-58Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajrd/6/2/4
[19]	Schmidt, P. (1976). On the statistical estimation of parametric frontier production functions. Review of Econometrics and Statistics, 58 (2): 238–239.
[20]	Shafiq, M. and Rehman, T. (2000). The extent of resource use inefficiencies in cotton production in Pakistan Punjab: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis. Agricultural Economics Journal, 22 (3): 321-330.
[21]	Kothari, C. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd Edition, Wisha, Prakasha, New Delhi.
[22]	Tadesse Zenebe Lema, Solomon Amare Tessema and Fentahun Addis Abebe (2017) Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Rice Production in Fogera District of Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Approach.
[23]	Kusse Hailu et al., (2018) Technical Efficiency of Sorghum Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Konso District, Southern Ethiopia.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Getachew Fikadu, Gemechu Mulatu. (2023). Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 8(5), 182-196. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Getachew Fikadu; Gemechu Mulatu. Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2023, 8(5), 182-196. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Getachew Fikadu, Gemechu Mulatu. Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. Int J Agric Econ. 2023;8(5):182-196. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12,
  author = {Getachew Fikadu and Gemechu Mulatu},
  title = {Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda},
  journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {5},
  pages = {182-196},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20230805.12},
  abstract = {In Ethiopia, increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have contributed a lot to the food security problems by widening the gap between demand for and supply of food. Increasing productivity in crop production, which among others could be possible by enhancing the level of technical efficiency, is an important step towards enlightening food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical efficiencies of smallholder potato producer and to identify factors affecting efficiency performances of smallholder farmers in potato production in Welmera district, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 150 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2019/20 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical efficiency levels, whereas a two-limit Tobit model was employed to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sampled farmers. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land, mineral fertilizers and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of potato output. The estimated mean values of technical efficiency were 73.7%, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in potato production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by age, education, farming experience, TLU, seeding/hoeing frequency, extension contact, frequency of agronomic practice training, access to cooperative, loan, access to work party/Debo, but negatively affected by land fragmentation. In general, the result indicated that there is a room to increase technical efficiency and thereby to increase productivity of potato producers in the study area.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda
AU  - Getachew Fikadu
AU  - Gemechu Mulatu
Y1  - 2023/10/09
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
T2  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
JF  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
JO  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
SP  - 182
EP  - 196
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3843
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
AB  - In Ethiopia, increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have contributed a lot to the food security problems by widening the gap between demand for and supply of food. Increasing productivity in crop production, which among others could be possible by enhancing the level of technical efficiency, is an important step towards enlightening food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical efficiencies of smallholder potato producer and to identify factors affecting efficiency performances of smallholder farmers in potato production in Welmera district, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 150 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2019/20 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical efficiency levels, whereas a two-limit Tobit model was employed to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sampled farmers. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land, mineral fertilizers and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of potato output. The estimated mean values of technical efficiency were 73.7%, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in potato production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by age, education, farming experience, TLU, seeding/hoeing frequency, extension contact, frequency of agronomic practice training, access to cooperative, loan, access to work party/Debo, but negatively affected by land fragmentation. In general, the result indicated that there is a room to increase technical efficiency and thereby to increase productivity of potato producers in the study area.
VL  - 8
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Getachew Fikadu

College of Business and Economics, Madda Walabu University, Robe, Ethiopia
Gemechu Mulatu

College of Business and Economics, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Getachew Fikadu, Gemechu Mulatu. (2023). Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 8(5), 182-196. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Getachew Fikadu; Gemechu Mulatu. Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2023, 8(5), 182-196. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Getachew Fikadu, Gemechu Mulatu. Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda. Int J Agric Econ. 2023;8(5):182-196. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12,
  author = {Getachew Fikadu and Gemechu Mulatu},
  title = {Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda},
  journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {5},
  pages = {182-196},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20230805.12},
  abstract = {In Ethiopia, increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have contributed a lot to the food security problems by widening the gap between demand for and supply of food. Increasing productivity in crop production, which among others could be possible by enhancing the level of technical efficiency, is an important step towards enlightening food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical efficiencies of smallholder potato producer and to identify factors affecting efficiency performances of smallholder farmers in potato production in Welmera district, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 150 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2019/20 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical efficiency levels, whereas a two-limit Tobit model was employed to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sampled farmers. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land, mineral fertilizers and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of potato output. The estimated mean values of technical efficiency were 73.7%, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in potato production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by age, education, farming experience, TLU, seeding/hoeing frequency, extension contact, frequency of agronomic practice training, access to cooperative, loan, access to work party/Debo, but negatively affected by land fragmentation. In general, the result indicated that there is a room to increase technical efficiency and thereby to increase productivity of potato producers in the study area.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Potato Production: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Welmera Woreda
AU  - Getachew Fikadu
AU  - Gemechu Mulatu
Y1  - 2023/10/09
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
T2  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
JF  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
JO  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
SP  - 182
EP  - 196
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3843
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20230805.12
AB  - In Ethiopia, increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have contributed a lot to the food security problems by widening the gap between demand for and supply of food. Increasing productivity in crop production, which among others could be possible by enhancing the level of technical efficiency, is an important step towards enlightening food security. This study was aimed at estimating the levels of technical efficiencies of smallholder potato producer and to identify factors affecting efficiency performances of smallholder farmers in potato production in Welmera district, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A two stages sampling technique was used to select 150 sample farmers to collect primary data pertaining of 2019/20 production year. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Cobb-Douglas production function was fitted using stochastic production frontier approach to estimate technical efficiency levels, whereas a two-limit Tobit model was employed to identify factors affecting efficiency levels of the sampled farmers. The stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land, mineral fertilizers and seed were the significant inputs to increase the quantity of potato output. The estimated mean values of technical efficiency were 73.7%, which indicate the presence of inefficiency in potato production in the study area. A two-limit Tobit model result indicated that technical efficiency positively and significantly affected by age, education, farming experience, TLU, seeding/hoeing frequency, extension contact, frequency of agronomic practice training, access to cooperative, loan, access to work party/Debo, but negatively affected by land fragmentation. In general, the result indicated that there is a room to increase technical efficiency and thereby to increase productivity of potato producers in the study area.
VL  - 8
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download