This study analyses the factors influencing the technical efficiency of arabica coffee
farmers in Cameroon. To carry out this analysis, a translog stochastic production frontier
function, in which technical inefficiency effects are specified to be functions of
socioeconomic variables, is estimated using the maximum-likelihood method. The data
used were collected from a sample of 140 farmers during the 2004 crop year. The
results obtained show some increasing returns to scale in coffee production. The mean
technical efficiency index is estimated at 0.896, and 32% of the farmers surveyed have
technical efficiency indexes of less than 0.91. The analysis also reveals that the educational level of the farmer and access to credit are the major socioeconomic variables influencing the farmers' technical efficiency. Finally, the findings prove that further productivity gains linked to the improvement of technical efficiency may still be realized in coffee production in Cameroon.
Keywords: Technical efficiency, stochastic production frontier, arabica coffee, Cameroon
JEL classification: 013, Q18, C21, R3
