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Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania

African Journal of Economic Review

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Title Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania
 
Creator Baha, M
Temu, A
Philip, D
 
Subject Smallholders, maize, production efficiency, stochastic frontier
 
Description Maize yield in Tanzania has been decreasing in the past few years. The decline has been attributed to many factors. This paper assesses  production efficiency and its determinants among maize farmers in Babati district. The paper uses data collected from 122 maize farmers residingin six villages in the study district. A stochastic frontier model has been used to determine the sources of inefficiency among maize farmers in the study area. The results show that the mean technical efficiency score for famers in the study area is 62.3%. This implies that there is a significant room for increasing maize yield in the study area if farmers use the  resources at their disposal efficiently. Moreover, the results show that the efficiency of maize farmers in the study area is influenced by farm size, formal education, number of plots owned by the farmer, frequency of contacts with extension officers, and the use of insecticides. It is therefore plausible to argue that improving farmers’ access to extension services and important inputs such as insecticides will have a significant influence on maize yield in the study area.Key words: Smallholders, maize, production efficiency, stochastic frontier
 
Publisher Centre for Economics and Community Economic Development
 
Contributor —
 
Date 2015-04-28
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajer/article/view/116291
 
Source African Journal of Economic Review; Vol 1, No 2 (2013); 1-14
1821-8148
 
Language eng
 
Relation https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajer/article/view/116291/105925
 
Rights The copyright belongs to: African Journal of Economic Review, Centre for Economics and Community Economic Development, The Open University of Tanzania, P.O.Box 23409, Dar es salaam, Tanzania