Productivity and efficiency heterogeneity among maize smallholder farmers in Ethiopia

Abstract

Maize is the cheapest grain in Ethiopia, which is widely consumed by rural communities and low-income urban residents. As a result, the Ethiopian government has implemented various policy initiatives to increase its productivity. However, these policy initiatives have not contributed enough to improve maize productivity. This study utilized stochastic frontier analysis to investigate and analyze factors contributing to differences in productivity and efficiency among smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia. The findings showed that the supply of inputs and technology significantly affected maize productivity. We found that women-managed households were more efficient than their male-managed counterparts. We also offered new insights into the non-linear effect of farmers’ education on their efficiency levels. Furthermore, we documented that households would benefit from a 14.40% productivity gain and 13.90% production cost savings if operating at full efficiency level. Land fragmentation and distance from the main market are key factors that have adversely affected the efficiency of smallholder maize farmers. Hence, policies that reduce land fragmentation and enhance rural market infrastructure development will enable Maize farmers to increase their efficiency and productivity.

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Maize is the most productive and cheapest grain in Ethiopia. Despite its potential, there is still a significant gap between the actual and potential yield. It calls attention to the low productivity of smallholder maize farmers, who account for more than 90% of maize production in Ethiopia. In particular, this study sought to examine and identify factors contributing to productivity and efficiency differences among smallholder maize farmers. Besides the supply and access to essential inputs and technology, we documented various socioeconomic, institutional, and demographic factors affecting the productivity and efficiency of farmers. The results also show that if households operated at full economic efficiency, they would benefit from a 14.40% productivity gain and 13.90% production cost savings. It revealed that there are still opportunities to increase maize productivity in the study area. Hence, the results can be helpful for policymakers and development interventionists looking to maintain food security by improving agricultural productivity.

Keywords:

• Efficiency
• land fragmentation
• productivity
• smallholder
• stochastic frontier
• two-stage

Reviewing editor:

• Manuel Tejada, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

SUBJECTS:

• Development Policy; Economics and Development; Economics

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Mengistu Alemu, upon reasonable request.

Notes

1 There is no clear definition of smallholder farmers. The simplest and conventional meaning of a smallholder is that smallholder farmers often have a very limited area of land (less than 2 hectares of land per farm) and operate with mixed farming (growing crops and farming livestock) under a single farm, most labor comes from the family, with no or very limited amounts of hired labor, limited availability of resources, and high vulnerability to risk (Zerssa et al., 2021).

2 Kebele is a collection of villages and the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia.

3 (Average area under maize/average of the total land available) *100.

4 It includes Family labor: Labor performed by members of the family/household and not considered as employees. Hired labor: Paid labor is performed either by members of the family or by non-members of the family. Exchange labor: Work performed by a person in exchange for labor, oxen, land, crops, or other kinds of work.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Mengistu Alemu

Mengistu Alemu is an economics lecturer and researcher at Debre Markos University, Ethiopia. He teaches courses mainly such as software applications in economics, development economics, econometrics, and development planning and project analysis. Mengistu Alemu has a specialized master’s in international and development economics from the University of Namur (offered jointly with the Catholic University of Louvain), Belgium. He also had a master’s (M.Sc.) degree in development economics from Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. His main areas of research interest are inequality and poverty, farm and firm-level efficiency and productivity differences, and the evaluation of public interventions. He has published several articles in reputable international journals. In addition, he has also participated in various research symposiums, seminars, workshops, and conferences. Moreover, he served as a member of the research subcommittee at Debre Markos University (Bure campus).