TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF WHEAT PRODUCTION;THE CASE OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN SIMADA DISTRICT, SOUTH GONDAR AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the main staple food in Ethiopia, high productivity and efficiency in its production is crucial to food security in the country. But, the productivity of wheat can be change due to differences in the efficiency of the production process. Since, this study aimed to analyzing the technical efficiency of wheat production in Simada district of south Gondar in Ethiopia. The objective of study was to measure the level of technical efficiency of wheat producers and to identify factors that contribute for efficiency differences among smallholder farmers in the study area. It was based on cross-sectional data collected from 154 wheat producer farmers by multi- stag sampling technique during 2017/18 production season. For data collection personal interview through a structural interview scheduled was employed. Both descriptive and inferential statistics with STATA 14 were used for data analysis. Technical efficiency of sampled farmer in wheat production was estimated and analyzed by Cobb-Douglas functional form in stochastic frontier model (SFM) with single stage estimation method. The estimated SFM indicated that input variables (land, labor, seed and oxen) were found to be significantly and positively influence wheat production at1and5percent of significant level respectively. The production of wheat by sampled farmer was characteristics in increasing return to scale (1.56). The estimated gamma (γ) parameter was about 0.57. The estimated mean level of TE of wheat producers was 0.74.Among the farm specific socioeconomic and institutional factors hypothesized to affect TE, education status and seasonal migration at 10 percent of significance level and family size, frequency of weeding, livestock holding and credit access at 5 percent of significance level and also frequency of extension contact at 1percent significance have positive influence on the level of technical efficiency in wheat production. Therefore, the study suggested the above mentioned significant variables have important for policy implications in that development programs may give fruitful attention so as to mitigate the existing level of inefficiency of farmers in the production of wheat in study area.