Comparative assessment of technical efficiencies of irrigated crop production farms: A case study of the large-scale Kampe-Omi irrigation scheme, Nigeria
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development
Abstract
The technical inefficiencies of crop production system in terms of large-scale irrigation schemes are major problems
attributed to the underperformance of crop farms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate and compare farm level technical efficiencies of four major crop productions system including, pepper, okra, garden egg, and tomato under
the large-scale Kampe-Omi irrigation scheme, Nigeria. The data development analysis (DEA) approach was used to
study the hypothesized determinants affecting the efficiencies of crop farms using an ordinary least squares regression
model. The results showed that the selected pepper, okra, garden egg, and tomato crop farms were fully efficient at 20,
10, 16.92, and 40% under constant return to scale (CRS), and at 13.33, 30, 10.77, and 25.71% under variable return to
scale (VRS), respectively. DEA revealed a considerable variation in technical inefficiency among the selected crop
farms under the irrigation scheme. The significant determinants of technical efficiencies of the four crop farms include
farmers’ age, family size, experience, alternative income, education, credit accessibility, and contact with extension
agents. The outcomes of this study are useful for improving production efficiencies while serving as a convenient guide
for both farmers and irrigation scheme managers of selected crops.
Description
Agricultural production
Keywords
crop production, DEA, large-scale irrigation scheme, technical efficiency, Nigeria