ABSTRACT

This study analysed panel data set from food crop farmers in Imo State to measure efficiency and productivity growth of their farms. Given that food supply has not kept pace with demand, the study specifically analysed factors of productivity change and estimated the production frontier model for food crop farmers. Using translog the estimated average efficiency level for the sample farms was about 47% for the period 2001-2007. The first-order parameters indicated that farm output is decreasing with increase in fertilizer and capital inputs while increasing with increase in farm size and labour. Output behaviours are greatly explained by technical inefficiency as suggeted by the variance parameter (0.999). The study reveals that it is not advantageous to plant many crops in a mixture since the number of crops grown simultaneously in a mixture shows a negative coefficient (-0.0 10). The farming experience shows positive coefficient indicating that efficiency increases with experience. Also the positive coefficient of time shows that efficiency tends to increase over time. The mean total factor productivity growth rates decreased through time with an average productivity growth of about 42.77% per year. To tackle these problems of declining productivity, it is suggested that the quality of fertilizer should be improved; extension agents should be deployed to teach farmers on the appropriate type of fertilizer to use coupled with the development of an optimum farm plan by researchers. Finally policies that will encourage young and educated people to go into farming are recommended with programmes that will improve the quality of personnel in Research Institutes as a way of ameliorating the moribund situation in Nigerian Agriculture.