GENDER AND RELATIVE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY IN FOOD CROP FARMING IN ABIA STATE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

In this study, food crop farmers in Abia State of Nigeria were disaggregated based on sex, their production efficiencies and returns to scale derived and compared. Primary data generated from a random sample of 87 food crop farmers consisting of 40 females and 47 males were used. The additive multiplicative dummy variable approach was used to compare the technical efficiencies between the farmer groups. Separate production functions were fitted for each group in order to derive their respective allocative efficiencies and returns to scale. Results from this study show that both farmer groups are characterised by factor biased or different production functions. None of the farmer groups achieved absolute allocative efficiency in the use of any of the resources. The female farmers achieved a lower level of technical efficiency, over utilised fertilizer and under utilised other farm inputs, labour, farmland and capital. The male farmers over utilised labour and fertilizer and under utilised other farm inputs, capital and farmland. It was concluded that redistributing available scarce resources in favour of the female gender would be uneconomical. Rather agricultural policies and programmes that could enable both farmer groups optimise their current levels of resource endowments should be implemented.



[Niger Agric. J. 34 (2003): 1-10]