An Estimation of the Determinants of Efficiency of Rice Farmers in Benin: A Case Study of the Departments of Mono and Couffo
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Date
2019-07-12
Authors
Houngue, Véronique
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
Rice is an important component in the quest for food security in Benin, but its
production remains low and thus needs to be optimized. This study estimated
technical as well as allocative efficiency and identified the sources of the
inefficiency of rice farmers in Benin, with specific focus on the departments
of Mono and Couffo. The study used secondary data obtained from the
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The data covers 210 rice
farmers evenly spread out within the departments of Mono and Couffo. The
Cobb-Douglas production frontier method was used to measure the level of
technical efficiency of farmers, while allocative efficiency was examined usingthe marginal product value method. The results reveal that the technical efficiency
of producers is at 78%, and that there are therefore possibilities of increasing rice
production. The sources of inefficiency are age, sex, the level of education and
access to finance. The results also revealed the existence of allocative inefficiency
in rice cultivation. Manpower is overused whereas other production factors such as
seeds, pesticides, and fertilizer are underutilized. Allocative efficiency is explained
by sex, age, the area sown, the type of crop, and access to finance. These results
indicate that rice farmers in the departments of Mono and Couffo would benefit from
adapting the best agricultural practices such as the use of fertilizer, agro-chemical
products, and irrigation.