Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia
Farmers in Ethiopia face challenges associated with low efficiency and productivity, primarily due to limited access to improved seeds and complementary inputs. Despite empirical evidence of the vital role played by agricultural cooperatives in providing these basic inputs, there has been no empiric...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154325003680 |
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| author | Abera Gemechu Moti Jaleta Lemma Zemedu Fekadu Beyene |
| author_facet | Abera Gemechu Moti Jaleta Lemma Zemedu Fekadu Beyene |
| author_sort | Abera Gemechu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Farmers in Ethiopia face challenges associated with low efficiency and productivity, primarily due to limited access to improved seeds and complementary inputs. Despite empirical evidence of the vital role played by agricultural cooperatives in providing these basic inputs, there has been no empirical study examining the impact of membership in seed producer cooperatives (SPCs) on agricultural development. This study aimed to assess the impact of membership in SPC on the technical efficiency (TE) of farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Using data from 425 selected tef farmers, the paper employed propensity score matching to match SPC members with non-members and applied a selectivity-corrected stochastic production frontier model to address unobserved biases. In addition, the meta-frontier approach was used to compare TE scores between the two groups of farmers. Results reveal that SPC members achieved a TE of 72 % of their potential output, whereas non-members achieved only 59 %. SPC members achieved meta technical efficiency (MTE) of 67 %, while non-members obtained MTE of 49 %. This indicates that non-members face tef production challenges due to limited access to improved technologies. In conclusion, SPC membership significantly enhances the TE of members compared to non-members indicating that improving TE could greatly boost productivity in the tef sector. The findings of the study suggest that the government of Ethiopia should enhance the skills of SPC members by providing training and promoting knowledge sharing among farmers to improve seed access. Similarly, private seed producers should be strengthened to meet the growing demand for improved seeds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8fc00fd2d0564d26a84f3bc8541fab87 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-1543 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-8fc00fd2d0564d26a84f3bc8541fab872025-08-20T03:13:58ZengElsevierJournal of Agriculture and Food Research2666-15432025-08-012210199710.1016/j.jafr.2025.101997Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of EthiopiaAbera Gemechu0Moti Jaleta1Lemma Zemedu2Fekadu Beyene3Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center, Bishoftu, Ethiopia; College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, School of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Haramaya University, Ethiopia; Corresponding author. Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center, Bishoftu, Ethiopia.International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDebrezeit Agricultural Research Center, Bishoftu, EthiopiaCollege of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, School of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Haramaya University, EthiopiaFarmers in Ethiopia face challenges associated with low efficiency and productivity, primarily due to limited access to improved seeds and complementary inputs. Despite empirical evidence of the vital role played by agricultural cooperatives in providing these basic inputs, there has been no empirical study examining the impact of membership in seed producer cooperatives (SPCs) on agricultural development. This study aimed to assess the impact of membership in SPC on the technical efficiency (TE) of farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Using data from 425 selected tef farmers, the paper employed propensity score matching to match SPC members with non-members and applied a selectivity-corrected stochastic production frontier model to address unobserved biases. In addition, the meta-frontier approach was used to compare TE scores between the two groups of farmers. Results reveal that SPC members achieved a TE of 72 % of their potential output, whereas non-members achieved only 59 %. SPC members achieved meta technical efficiency (MTE) of 67 %, while non-members obtained MTE of 49 %. This indicates that non-members face tef production challenges due to limited access to improved technologies. In conclusion, SPC membership significantly enhances the TE of members compared to non-members indicating that improving TE could greatly boost productivity in the tef sector. The findings of the study suggest that the government of Ethiopia should enhance the skills of SPC members by providing training and promoting knowledge sharing among farmers to improve seed access. Similarly, private seed producers should be strengthened to meet the growing demand for improved seeds.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154325003680ImpactSeed producer cooperativesmembershipTechnical efficiencyMeta stochastic frontierTef |
| spellingShingle | Abera Gemechu Moti Jaleta Lemma Zemedu Fekadu Beyene Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia Journal of Agriculture and Food Research Impact Seed producer cooperatives membership Technical efficiency Meta stochastic frontier Tef |
| title | Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia |
| title_full | Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia |
| title_short | Impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency: Evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia |
| title_sort | impact of seed producer cooperatives membership on technical efficiency evidence from tef farmers in the central highlands of ethiopia |
| topic | Impact Seed producer cooperatives membership Technical efficiency Meta stochastic frontier Tef |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154325003680 |
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