Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia
Maize is the cheapest grain in Ethiopia, which is widely consumed by rural communities and low-income urban residents. As a result, the Ethiopian government has implemented various policy initiatives to increase its productivity. However, these policy initiatives have not contributed enough to impro...
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| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2300191 |
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| author | Mengistu Alemu Daregot Berihun Jourdain C. Lokossou Bedilu Yismaw |
| author_facet | Mengistu Alemu Daregot Berihun Jourdain C. Lokossou Bedilu Yismaw |
| author_sort | Mengistu Alemu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Maize is the cheapest grain in Ethiopia, which is widely consumed by rural communities and low-income urban residents. As a result, the Ethiopian government has implemented various policy initiatives to increase its productivity. However, these policy initiatives have not contributed enough to improve maize productivity. This study utilized stochastic frontier analysis to investigate and analyze factors contributing to differences in productivity and efficiency among smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia. The findings showed that the supply of inputs and technology significantly affected maize productivity. We found that women-managed households were more efficient than their male-managed counterparts. We also offered new insights into the non-linear effect of farmers’ education on their efficiency levels. Furthermore, we documented that households would benefit from a 14.40% productivity gain and 13.90% production cost savings if operating at full efficiency level. Land fragmentation and distance from the main market are key factors that have adversely affected the efficiency of smallholder maize farmers. Hence, policies that reduce land fragmentation and enhance rural market infrastructure development will enable Maize farmers to increase their efficiency and productivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a5c57951fa3c4ba1871fd7afc7e92e2d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2331-1932 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-a5c57951fa3c4ba1871fd7afc7e92e2d2025-08-20T02:49:47ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Food & Agriculture2331-19322024-12-0110110.1080/23311932.2023.2300191Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in EthiopiaMengistu Alemu0Daregot Berihun1Jourdain C. Lokossou2Bedilu Yismaw3Department of Economics, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaInstitute for Economic Research (IER), Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaUniversity of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey Calavi, BeninDepartment of Marketing Management, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaMaize is the cheapest grain in Ethiopia, which is widely consumed by rural communities and low-income urban residents. As a result, the Ethiopian government has implemented various policy initiatives to increase its productivity. However, these policy initiatives have not contributed enough to improve maize productivity. This study utilized stochastic frontier analysis to investigate and analyze factors contributing to differences in productivity and efficiency among smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia. The findings showed that the supply of inputs and technology significantly affected maize productivity. We found that women-managed households were more efficient than their male-managed counterparts. We also offered new insights into the non-linear effect of farmers’ education on their efficiency levels. Furthermore, we documented that households would benefit from a 14.40% productivity gain and 13.90% production cost savings if operating at full efficiency level. Land fragmentation and distance from the main market are key factors that have adversely affected the efficiency of smallholder maize farmers. Hence, policies that reduce land fragmentation and enhance rural market infrastructure development will enable Maize farmers to increase their efficiency and productivity.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2300191Efficiencyland fragmentationproductivitysmallholderstochastic frontiertwo-stage |
| spellingShingle | Mengistu Alemu Daregot Berihun Jourdain C. Lokossou Bedilu Yismaw Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia Cogent Food & Agriculture Efficiency land fragmentation productivity smallholder stochastic frontier two-stage |
| title | Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia |
| title_full | Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia |
| title_short | Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia |
| title_sort | productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in ethiopia |
| topic | Efficiency land fragmentation productivity smallholder stochastic frontier two-stage |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2300191 |
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