Technical Efficiency of Onion Farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

Onion production is an important source of food, income, and employment for many rural households in Nigeria. Despite its economic importance, productivity among smallholder onion farmers remains below potential due to technical inefficiency in the use of available production resources. This study examined the technical efficiency of onion farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 254 onion farmers using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the stochastic frontier production model. The results revealed that the respondents were relatively young and economically active, with a mean age of 38 years, an average household size of 6 persons, and an average farming experience of 10 years. The estimated mean technical efficiency was 0.658, indicating that farmers achieved only 65.8% of the potential output, leaving room for a 34.2% improvement through more efficient use of existing resources. The estimated sigma-square value (0.0027) was statistically significant, confirming the suitability of the stochastic frontier model, while lambda value (2.23298) indicated that the differences between observed and potential output were mainly due to technical inefficiency. The gamma estimate of 0.83 further showed that 83% of the variation in onion output was attributable to technical inefficiency. Education, farming experience and age significantly improved farmers’ technical efficiency, whereas limited access to extension services and credit reduced efficiency. The study concludes that onion production in Taraba State has considerable potential for increased productivity through improved resource-use efficiency.