Technical efficiency of rural women farmers in Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the technical efficiency among women farmers in Borno State, Nigeria. The data for the study were generated by the use of structured questionnaire which was administered to 266 respondents obtained by the use of multistage sampling technique. The techniques used to analyze the data generated for this study were descriptive statistics and the maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic frontier production function. The major findings of the study showed that respondent’s socioeconomic characteristics indicated high levels of illiteracy (59.4%), non-membership of cooperatives (89.8%), no extension contact (72%) and low access to credit (89.4%). The determinants of technical inefficiency were education, off farm income, time on farm, age, credit and land ownership which all contributed to reducing technical inefficiency as the variable was increased. Mean technical efficiency of respondents was 0.5754 while that of the ‘’best’’ farmer was 0.9994. A boost in both girl child education and adult women education were recommended for girls/women in the study area to enhance technical efficiency of production.

Key Words: Women, Productivity, Technical Efficiency, Resources