Identification of Factors that Influence Technical Efficiency of Food Crop Production in West Africa: Empirical Evidence from Borno State, Nigeria

The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of food crop production and technical efficiency in the guinea savannas of Borno State, Nigeria. A stochastic frontier production function, using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was applied in the analysis of data collected from 1086 sample farmers in 2004. The MLE results reveal that farm size; fertilizer and hired labour are the major factors that are associated with changes in the output of food crops. The effect of land area on output is positive and the coefficient found to be significant (p = 0.01). Fertilizer and hired labour have positive effects on output and their coefficients are significant (p = 0.01). Mean farmers’ technical efficiency index was found to be 0.68. Farmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, education, credit, extension and crop diversification, were found to be the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers. The implication of the study is that technical efficiency in food crop production could be increased by 32 percent through better use of available resources, given the current state of technology

Mid-term and cost-benefit study of smallholder farmers in Striga-Infested maize and cowpea growing areas of Northern Nigeria

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) provided a 4-year financial support to the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and other partners in 2011 to adapt and intensively promote proven integrated Striga management strategies in cowpea and maize farming systems in northern Nigeria and western Kenya, with the active participation of farmers, community-based organizations, extension workers, policy makers, and researchers. The objective of the project is to improve the livelihoods of over 25 million smallholder farmers in the immediate impact zones of the project in northern Nigeria (15 million) and western Kenya (10 million) in the long term by developing and implementing a robust “ Striga threat reduction strategy” that identifies and strategically promotes scientifically proven technologies that work on smallholder farmers’ fields and which have direct effects on stopping Striga emergence, reducing the Striga seed bank in the fields, improving soil fertility, and increasing crop yields. The management technologies being promoted in Northern Nigeria range from cultural practices such as crop rotation of maize with soybean which stimulates Striga to germinate but which later dies in the absence of the maize host to latch onto; and using Striga-resistant maize and cowpea varieties. The ISMA project is expected to end in 2015, thus, it is pertinent to carry out a mid-term evaluation of the project with respect to adoption and benefit-cost analysis of the Striga management technologies among farming households in the project areas and make a comparison with non-intervention areas. In Nigeria, the Integrated Striga Management in Africa (ISMA) project was implemented in Kano and Bauchi states, both located in the savanna agroecology of northern Nigeria. The mid-term evaluation will provide the basis to present ISMA’s achievement to policy makers, NARES, private sector partners, the BMGF, and other development partners. The result will also guide the scaling-up and scaling out of the project to other parts of the savanna ecological zones of northern Nigeria. It is within this context that the study was planned. The objectives of the study were to..

Determinants of intensity of biomass utilization: evidence from cassava smallholders in Nigeria

Open Access Journal; Published online: 30 April 2019he paradigm shift from value chains to value webs in the emerging bioeconomy has necessitated a review on how agricultural systems transit to value web production systems. This study examines how smallholders in the cassava system in Nigeria have been able to increase utilization of biomass in their production systems. Using a sample of 541 households, the study employed cluster analysis and ordered probit regression to examine the intensity of cassava utilization and the determinants of the intensity of utilization. The study found that over 50% of the respondents were classified as low-intensity utilization households, while ~13% were high-intensity utilization households. Land, social capital, farming experience, and asset ownership increased the probability of intensifying cassava utilization among smallholders. The study recommends strengthening assets acquisition, improving land quality and encouraging social capital development among smallholders

The impact of mechanized processing of cassava on farmers' production efficiency in Uganda

The study investigates the impact of adopting mechanized processing of cassava on farmers’ production efficiency in Uganda. A stochastic production function, using translog functional form, was used to compare efficiency measures of farmers in mechanized cassava-processing villages compared with the farmers in nonmechanized cassava-processing villages in 2014. Given the specification of the translog production function, the mean technical efficiencies of the farmers were 0.69 and 0.52 in mechanized and nonmechanized villages, respectively. The significant determinants of technical inefficiency among the respondents are farming experience, education, membership of farmer association, access to markets, sale of cassava to processors and farmers who planted cassava as sole crop are all negative, which confirm to a priori expectations and significant at different levels. The policy implication of the study is that mechanization of cassava processing, particularly if done at the right scale, could create demand that can transform primary production for increased yields, higher incomes and production efficiency of smallholder farmers who constitute a significant proportion of Uganda’s agricultural sector

Drivers of technical efficiency in cassava processing in Nigeria: implications for a commercializing food sector

Open Access JournalRésumé La plupart des politiques agricoles au Nigeria ont pour objectif d’intégrer les petits agriculteurs dans l'économie de marché. Au cours de la dernière décennie, le Nigéria a connu un important apport de capitaux privés et publics dans la promotion des unités de transformation du manioc de petite échelle. Cette étude utilise la fonction de frontière stochastique et des données d’entrées/sorties pour mesurer et expliquer les efficacités techniques (ET) de 274 entreprises de petite et moyenne taille. L'étude a montré que les entreprises de transformation du manioc ont une efficacité technique moyenne de 43% t, indiquant qu'une très grande proportion de la valeur de la production (57%) est perdue en raison des inefficacités propres aux entreprises. Les entreprises de transformation de la zone du Centre-Nord ont enregistré l’efficacité technique moyenne la plus élevée (61%), suivies par celle de la zone du Sud-Est / Sud-Ouest (42%) et enfin celle du Sud-Sud (26%). Les valeurs de l’ ET étaient inférieures à 80% pour environ 85% des entreprises échantillonnées. Les efficacités techniques sont influencées par la classification de l'entreprise (petite ou moyenne taille, propriété individuelle ou propriété familiale), les facteurs sociaux (interactions avec d'autres acteurs), économiques (nombre de produits, de clients ou de commandes reçues) et la participation à un atelier de formation. Les gouvernements et les institutions ayant un rôle statutaire dans la promotion des chaînes de valeurs agricoles devraient envisager de façon adéquate l’encouragement et la promotion des unités de transformateurs de manioc de petite et moyenne taille et ceci, avec beaucoup plus de vigueur. L’organisation régulière d’ateliers pour renforcer les capacités et l'efficacité des transformateurs est également recommandée. Abstract Most agriculture policies in Nigeria are aimed at integrating the rural poor into market economy. In the last decade, Nigeria witnessed significant private and public injection of capital into the promotion of small-medium scale cassava processing. This study uses a stochastic frontier function and inputs/outputs data to measure technical efficiencies (TE) of 274 small-medium cassava processing firms in Nigeria. Results showed that the cassava processing enterprises had a mean TE of 43 percent, indicating that, a large proportion of output value (57%) is lost due to firm-specific inefficiencies. Cassava processing enterprises in the north-central area of Nigeria recorded a mean TE of 61% (highest), followed by South-east/South-west (42%) and South-south (26%). TE values were below 80% for about 85% percent of the sampled enterprises. Technical efficiencies were influenced by enterprise classification (small-medium, sole proprietorship or family ownership), social factors (interaction with other actors), economic (number of products, clients or orders received) and attendance of training workshop. It is recommended that government and institutions with statutory role to promote agricultural value chains should consider encouraging and promoting small-medium scale cassava processing the more with adequate impetus. Constant training workshops to improve the skills and efficiency of the cassava processors are also recommended

Assessment of the nutritional composition, physical properties and sensory quality of composite bread baked with high-quality cassava flour from biofortified and white- fleshed cassava roots

Published online: 25 Jun 2019With proper processing and utilization, biofortified cassava may contribute to the nutritional status of the consumers, thus, the need for this study. High-quality cassava flour from white- (TME 419) and biofortified (TMS 01/1368) cassava varieties were produced at a commercial processing factory, after which the flour is composite with wheat flour to produce bread. The nutritional composition, physical properties and sensory quality of the composite bread were analyzed using standard methods. Results showed that composite bread from 20% biofortified cassava flour (20-YCF) had a higher value of total β-carotene (0.74 μg/g), moisture (37.83%) and ash (2.29%) contents. The fat (3.72%) and protein (12.83%) contents were higher in 20% white cassava flour (20-WCF) composite bread. The 20-YCF composite bread had the highest loaf volume (3286.2 cm3), elasticity (6.32), chewiness (40.51 N) and gumminess (6.41), 20-WCF composite bread had higher specific volume (3.59 cm3/g) and hardness (176.50 N). The 100% wheat bread had higher cohesiveness (0.10) and loaf weight (932.35 g). A significant negative correlation (r = - 0.98, p≤0.05) exist between bread hardness and protein content. The composite bread compared favourably with the 100% wheat bread in terms of weight and aroma, but, the 100% wheat bread was more acceptable

Impact on household food security of promoting sustainable agriculture among farming households in Borno State, Nigeria

This paper evaluates the impact of the project Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Borno (PROSAB) on the livelihoods of farming households in Borno State, Nigeria. Specifically, the paper identifies and provides information on farmers adoption of improved crop varieties introduced by PROSAB, measures their adoption rates and food security levels, and analyses the factors that affect the households food security status. The study used mainly primary data collected from a sample of 693 farming households in the study area. The analysis of data was carried out using descriptive statistics, Cost of Calorie calculations, and Logit regression techniques. The study results suggest that PROSAB has made a significant contribution towards improving the food security of households. In project intervention communities, food insecurity has been reduced from 58% in 2004 to 30% in 2015, indicating a 28% improvement in food security over the 11-year period. The paper clearly demonstrates how the adoption of crop technologies and crop management practices with linkages to markets has significantly contributed in improving households food security. The paper recommends increased promotion of improved crop technologies, trainings delivered to farmers on such technologies, and policies that enhance farmers access to inputs, credit, and output markets. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge the following; i) Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for funding the research (2004-2009); ii) financial assistance from the funded N2Africa project; iii) the contribution of IITA as an institution for providing a conducive environment and various Scientists from IITA that were involved in delivering research for development technologies and farmers training in the PROSAB project area, which had significantly increased crop yields, farmers income and enhanced household food security and iv) the contribution of Scientists from the University of Maiduguri and Borno State Agricultural Development Programmes who are Collaborators in implementing the PROSAB project

An investigation of factors that influence the technical efficiency of soybean production in the Guinea savannas of Nigeria

The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of technical efficiency (TE) of soybean production in the Guinea savannas. A stochastic frontier production function, using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was applied in the analysis of data collected in 2006 from a sample of 182 soybean farmers in the guinea savannas of Borno State, Nigeria. The MLE results revealed that farm size, seeds, family labour, hired labour and fertilizer were the major factors that were associated with change in the output of soybeans and were significant (p = 0.05). About 78% variations in the farmers output can be attributed to differences in their technical efficiency. The mean farmers TE index was found to be 0.79. The implication is that soybean production could be increased by approximately 21% through the improved use of available resources, given the current state of technology. Farmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, gender and use of animal traction and market accessibility, were the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers. The policy implication of this finding is that providing farmers with effective market linkage, access to education, especially extension education and credit facilities to purchase animal traction will strengthen their present level of TE and the productivity potential of the soybean farmers in the study area

Determinants of food demend among rural households in Borno state, Nigeria

This study uses a food consumption survey of rural households to examine the determinants of food demand in Borno State, Nigeria. The Linear-Approximate Almost Idea Demand System (LA/AIDS) model was used in analysis of data. Results showed that the income elasticities (expenditure) for animal protein and fat & oil are positive but greater than one, while those of cereals, legumes, roots & tubers and vegetables & fruits were less than one but positive. The policy implication of this finding is that due to the high cost of animal protein, it is important to introduce new recipe of legume-based food in order to supplement protein intake