Measurement of Efficiency of Yam Production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria: A Profit Function Approach

Abstract

The study employed the stochastic frontier function to examine factors that affected economic efficiency and the level of the efficiency for yam production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to sample for location while purposive sampling technique was employed to sample for the respondents. One hundred and sixty yam farmers constituted the sampling size and the sampling frame was derived from the list of yam farmers gotten from the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) extension offices in the respective communities. A mean economic efficiency of 51% was measured for the sampled yam farmers. Price of planting materials (p=0.01), price of fertilizer used (p=0.01) and capital inputs (p=0.01) were significant factors that strongly determined yam production. However, the factors that strongly determined economic efficiency of yam production in Nasarawa State were age (p=0.01), household size (p=0.01) farm size (p=0.05) and extension contacts (p=0.1). Policies of government for increased yam productivity and economic efficiency in the study area should target the young farmers, geared towards improving on the existing extension service provision which should include sustained subsidies and easy accessibility of farm inputs by the farmers.

Keywords: Stochastic frontier, profit function, determinants, economic efficiency