Technical Efficiency of Cocoyam Production in Kaduna State, Nigeria: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach

Aims: Aims of the study were to describe socio-economic characteristics of cocoyam farmers, determine the technical efficiency of cocoyam producers and identify socio-economic factors influencing technical efficiency of cocoyam producers in Kaduna state.

Study Design: Primary data were collected from cocoyam producers through the use of structured questionnaires.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in three local government area in Kaduna state, Nigeria between August and November 2013 cropping season.

Methodology: Multistage purposive and random sampling techniques were employed for data collection.

Results: The study showed that 34% of the respondents fall within the age range of 30 and 39 years. The majority of the farmers (50%) had no formal education. The household size ranged from 6-10 persons, whereas (73%) were not members of cooperative society. Results indicated that except for fertilizer, all other factors were significant (P < 0.01). The mean technical efficiency is 63% while the range is 11-93%

Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that none of the sampled cocoyam farms reached the frontier threshold. Also, amount of credit received was the socio-economic variable responsible for the variation in technical efficiency of the cocoyam producers. It was therefore recommended that timely and adequate supply of fertilizer should be made available to farmers at affordable price in order to enhance the production of cocoyam.