Technical efficiency and technology gaps among smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia
Despite advancements in agricultural technology, food insecurity and poverty remain significant challenges in many developing countries. This situation is severe in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where rural poverty and food insecurity are on the rise, becoming critical developmental issues. Consequently...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Sustainable Futures |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825001893 |
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| Summary: | Despite advancements in agricultural technology, food insecurity and poverty remain significant challenges in many developing countries. This situation is severe in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where rural poverty and food insecurity are on the rise, becoming critical developmental issues. Consequently, enhancing the production of staple crops is essential for achieving food security in the region. In this paper, we investigate the impact of adopting improved maize varieties (IMV) on technical efficiency and technology gap in maize production. Using household panel data, we estimate a true fixed-effects stochastic meta-frontier model and account for technological variation and unobservable farm heterogeneity. Our results indicate that farmers who adopted IMV achieved a 13.3% increase in technical efficiency compared to non-adopters. We find an 11.3% technology gap between adopters and non-adopters of IMV. These findings highlight the importance of promoting IMV adoption to enhance technical efficiency in maize production and contribute to food security in Ethiopia. |
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| ISSN: | 2666-1888 |