Application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis in the Estimation of Allocative Efficiency of Part-Time Food Crop Farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The part-time farmers like other farmers will typically produce to satisfy household food needs or make profit from selling or both. Either of the two objectives of production requires efficient use of farm resources as efficiency is at the heart of agricultural production. In this paper, stochastic frontier cost model is used to analyze the allocative efficiency of part-time food crop farmers in Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State, North Central Nigeria and also to establish the socio-economic factors that determine allocative efficiency. It is evident from the study that part-time food crop farmers are not fully efficient in their allocation of production resources.  This was confirmed by the presence of allocative inefficiency effects in part-time food crop farming with average allocative efficiency of 97.95 %. The study also revealed that rising age and household size contribute to allocative inefficiency in part-time food crop farming, while level of education and farming experience were found to increase allocative efficiency among the part-time food crop farmers. It is recommended that policies aimed at encouraging relatively younger and educated persons and providing them easy access to improved seeds and fertilizers should be formulated .This will go a long way in enhancing allocative efficiency in part-time food crop farming.

Keywords: Part-time farming, stochastic frontier cost model, allocative efficiency