The study analysed the technical efficiency of small-scale pigeon pea farms in Malawi. 2010/2012 National wide data of 2,137 pigeon pea farmers were analyzed using Maximum Likelihood estimation of a Stochastic frontier. The determinants of technical efficiency were incorporated within single-stage estimation of the frontier. Results revealed that the average output of pigeon pea farms in Malawi could increase by 47% under prevailing technology. The technical efficiency of the sampled pigeon pea farms ranged from 0.22 to 0.84 (0.53 average). Most importantly, the empirical results demonstrate that better extension services and farmer training programs on crop marketing and providing access to credit are key to enhance technical efficiency.
Acknowledgement : Special thanks to World Bank and Malawi National Statistical Office for the data which was made available for this study
