International Research Journal of Plant and Crop Sciences ISSN: 1711-3490 Vol. 5 (1), pp. 161-177, September, 2019.  © Advanced Scholars Journals

Full length Research paper

Analysis of production efficiency, productivity variances and resource allocation of Soybean in small holder Agriculture: evidence from Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia

 Regasa DW¹, Mesay Y² and Adam B³

¹Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Assosa Agricultural Research Center, Assosa, Ethiopia;

²Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Sebeta Fishery Research Center, Sebeta, Ethiopia;

³Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Corresponding Author email: [email protected]

Accepted 4 April, 2019.

Abstract

Soybean is an important crop in the world. It has been used as human food, livestock feed, and for various industrial purposes. The main objective of the study was to explore ways likely to increase productivity of soybean among small-holder farmers in the region through a better use of the factors employed in soybean production. The study were used primary data collected from a sample of 266 soybean producer farmers of Assosa and Bambasi districts through administration of structured questionnaire. Multi-stage random sampling technique was employed to select sample respondents. The respondents were randomly selected from nine villages of the two districts where the scaling-up of soybean technologies being introduced. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze socioeconomic characteristics while the stochastic frontier production function was used, in order to estimate the level of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies among sample farmers. The results further revealed the existence of inefficiencies in soybean production among farmers in the study area. The mean technical efficiency of soybean producer farmers was found to be 72.81% while the average efficiency of allocative   and economic were 55.13% and 40.08%, respectively. On the determinants of inefficiency, the study found that educational level, farming experience, distance to cooperative and input center significantly reduce the technical inefficiencies among soybean farmers, whereas distance to main road, access to credit,  frequency of extension contacts, farming experience and ownerships to tropical livestock unit decreases allocative inefficiency of soybean among producers. On the other hand, educational level, frequency of extension contact, experience in farming, distance to cooperative and input center significantly reduce economic inefficiencies among soybean producer farmers in study area. The result emphasize the need for building rural infrastructure, adult education and training of farmers in FTC and demonstration new technologies, institutional support of credit services and increasing frequency of extension and improving livestock health and nutritional improvements in the study area.

Key words: Soybean, Small-holder farmers, Efficiency, Stochastic frontier, Benishangul-Gumuz region