Estimating the Efficiency of Maize Farmers in Ghana

A lot of investment has been made in the agricultural sector of Ghana to increase agricultural production through the introduction of new technologies. However, it has been observed that despite efforts being made by the government through the introduction of new varieties of maize the productivity of maize farmers is generally low. This study sought to assess the efficiency of farmers in the Nkoranza area. The study employed the stochastic frontier model by using a one-stage process in Frontier computer programme and using cross-sectional data of the 2008 major cropping season. Socio-economic and management practices that influence technical efficiency were determined. Input elasticities as well as allocative efficiency of the farmers were also determined. A mean technical efficiency of 91 percent was obtained for maize farmers. There was a distinct variability in mean technical efficiency among farmers cultivating the improved variety and those cultivating the local variety. Variety of maize cultivated by the farmer, sex of the farmer, experience of maize farmer, distance of the farm from the farmers’ residence and number of times a farmer gets extension visits were found to have significant effect on technical efficiency. Allocatively, maize farmers were found to be over utilizing labour but under utilizing fertilizer and seeds in the study area. The study recommended that more extension staff should be trained so that their services could be extended to more farmers