ABSTRACT
The technical efficiency between
organic and inorganic fertilizer utilization in Abia State was evaluated. The
objective of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of organic and inorganic
fertilizer utilization by farmers in Abia State. A multi-stage random sampling
technique was adopted in selecting 60 respondents in the state. Descriptive
statistics such as means, frequencies and percentages were used in presenting
the data on the socioeconomic variables. The Cobb-Douglas functional form of
the stochastic frontier production functions were estimated using the maximum
likelihood estimation technique to obtain the technical efficiency of the
farmers. The result indicated that majority of the fanners were females
(61.7%), majority of whom are more than 50 years of age (26%). A larger
percentage (63.3%) had little or no education. The result showed that technical
efficiency was influenced by farm size, labour, fertilizer, manure, stems used.
The major determinants were age, farm size, family size, fertilizer use or
manure, credit access, membership of cooperatives societies and adoption of
technology. The results of the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier model showed
that farmers who used inorganic fertilizer are more technically efficient than
the organic fertilizer farmers. The estimated mean technical efficiencies for
organic fertilizer farmers was 0.64 (64%), while that of inorganic fertilizer
farmers was 0.66 (66%). Further analysis showed that farmers in both categories
were operating at a point of increasing return to scale, while the sum of
elasticity's was 2.62 for the farmers using inorganic fertilizer and 2.05 for
farmers who used organic fertilizer. The constraints are poor and inefficient
fertilizer supply and distribution system especially in upland countries make
it unavailable to farmers as at when it is needed; packaging of fertilizer in
large sizes (50kg) makes it difficult with small plots to buy it. It was
therefore recommended that policy attention should be directed towards
providing labour saving techniques to its farm operations and government should
facilitate the distribution and use of fertilizer.
NDUBUISI, . (2021). A Comparative Analysis Of Technical Efficiency Between Organic And Inorganic Fertilizer Utilization In Abia State . Mouau.afribary.org: Retrieved Nov 24, 2024, from https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/a-comparative-analysis-of-technical-efficiency-between-organic-and-inorganic-fertilizer-utilization-in-abia-state-7-2
.E., NDUBUISI. "A Comparative Analysis Of Technical Efficiency Between Organic And Inorganic Fertilizer Utilization In Abia State " Mouau.afribary.org. Mouau.afribary.org, 15 Jul. 2021, https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/a-comparative-analysis-of-technical-efficiency-between-organic-and-inorganic-fertilizer-utilization-in-abia-state-7-2. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
.E., NDUBUISI. "A Comparative Analysis Of Technical Efficiency Between Organic And Inorganic Fertilizer Utilization In Abia State ". Mouau.afribary.org, Mouau.afribary.org, 15 Jul. 2021. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. < https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/a-comparative-analysis-of-technical-efficiency-between-organic-and-inorganic-fertilizer-utilization-in-abia-state-7-2 >.
.E., NDUBUISI. "A Comparative Analysis Of Technical Efficiency Between Organic And Inorganic Fertilizer Utilization In Abia State " Mouau.afribary.org (2021). Accessed 24 Nov. 2024. https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/a-comparative-analysis-of-technical-efficiency-between-organic-and-inorganic-fertilizer-utilization-in-abia-state-7-2