Technical Efficiency in Rice Production Among Smallholder Farmers in Central Liberia: A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis

Abstract

Demand for rice remains high in Liberia with low farm-level productivity (1.2 t/ha). The ability of smallholder rice farmers to improve output levels and attain sustainable production depends on efficient farm practices, hence technical efficiency. A stochastic frontier production function was applied to examine the technical efficiency of rice production. A two stage random sampling with stratification was used to collect data from 400 rice farmers in Bein Garr and Panta Districts, Central Liberia. The study has revealed that technical efficiency among farmers range from 14% to 88%, with the mean of 55%; indicating that on average, the actual output can be increased by 45% in the study area with the available technology and resources.  The determinants explaining efficiency variation in the study area were education, farming experience, household size, credit access, group membership and the type of seed used. The study recommends policies that target on increasing and improving farmers’ access to credit so as to enable the farmers get the needed production inputs such as improved seeds and fertilizer on time. Furthermore, farmers should be encouraged to organize themselves into associations/cooperatives around major rice producing and processing hubs.

Keywords: smallholder farmers, rice, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier, Liberia