Relative Technical Change And Production Efficiency Of Male And Female Smallholder Arable Crop Farm Households In Abia State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study on the relative technical change and production efficiency of male and female smallholder arable crop farm households was carried out in Abia State. The socio-economic characteristics of the female and male heads of households were cross-tabulated with access to credit, farm size, labour use and depreciated value of farm tools. The study also estimated and compared the production function, profit function and efficiency measures of the male and female arable crop households. The relative technical change in the output of the household head was also determined. The data were collected through cost route using a structured questionnaire. Eighty households were sampled (40 male and 40 female headed). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, stochastic production frontier functions, z-test, efficiency indices, profit function and chow’s tests. The results showed that the female headed households had less access to credit, land, labour and farm tools than the male headed households. The result also showed that labour and farm size were positively related to the output of the female headed households while farm tools was negatively related to the output of the female headed households. For male headed households, farm tools was negatively related to the output of the male headed households and farm size and planting materials were positively related to output of the male headed households. Also, output (in naira) was higher for male headed households than for female headed households. For female headed households, land was underutilized while labour and farm tools were overutilized.  The male headed households underutilized land and planting materials and overutilized farm tools. Both households were inefficient in the use of all resources.  The female headed households were technically, economically and allocatively more efficient than the male headed households. Household size, farm tools, farm size and price of labour, positively and significantly influenced profit of female headed households and price of agrochemical, price of fertilizer and price of planting material were significant and negatively influenced the profit of female headed households while household size and farm size were significant and positively influenced the profit of the male headed households. Age, price of fertilizer, price of labour and price of output, negatively and significantly   respectively influenced the profit of the male headed households. The profit of the male headed households was higher than the profit of the female headed households. The result also showed that there was a technical difference between the output of the male and female headed households. The difference between the outputs of the household heads was due to the sex of the household head. This study recommend that government should enact polices that provide and expand agricultural credit facilities to ensure that farm households have improved access to credit. This may require a review of the community and rural banking schemes to bring credit facilities to the door steps of farm households in rural areas.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Title Page                                                                                                                    i

Declaration                                                                                                                  ii         

Certification                                                                                                                iii        

Dedication                                                                                                                  iv

Acknowledgements                                                                                                    v

Table of Contents                                                                                                       vi

List of Tables                                                                                                              x

List of Figures                                                                                                             xii

 Abstract                                                                                                                     xiii

 

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background Information                                                                                1         

1.2       Problem Statement                                                                                          3

1.3       Objectives of the Study                                                                                  4

1.4       Hypotheses                                                                                                     5

1.5       Justification for the Study                                                                              5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW                                                                              

2.1       Conceptual Literature                                                                                     8

2.1.1    Household                                                                                                       8

2.1.2    Household heads                                                                                             8

2.1.3    Arable crop farming                                                                                       10

2.1.4    Small holder arable crop farm and farm size                                                11

2.1.5    Scale of production                                                                                        12

2.1.6    Credit                                                                                                             13

2.1.7   Labour                                                                                                             14

2.1.8   Land                                                                                                                15

2.1.9     Production                                                                                                     18

2.1.10   Concept of efficiency                                                                                     25

2.1.11  Stochastic frontier approach                                                                            26

2.1.12  Technical change                                                                                             32

2.1.13   Profit function                                                                                                 32

2.2       Conceptual Framework                                                                                     37

2.3       Theoretical Literature                                                                                       38

2.3.1    Theories of production                                                                                     38                           

2.3.2    Theories of profit                                                                                             39  

2.3.3    Theories of efficiency                                                                                      41

2.4       Empirical Literature                                                                                         42

2.4.1     Socio-economic characteristic and output of farm households                      42

2.4.2     Production functions of female and male headed households                        45

2.4.3     Efficiency measures of female and male headed households                         46

2.4.4     Profit functions of female and male headed households                                48

2.5        Analytical Tools                                                                                              49

2.5.1     Mean                                                                                                               49

2.5.2    Frequency distribution                                                                                     50

2.5.3     Z- test                                                                                                              50         

2.5.4     Regression analysis                                                                                        51

2.5.5     Chow’s test                                                                                                     52

2.5.6     Resource-Use efficiency index                                                                      53

2.5.7     Technical efficiency                                                                                       54

2.5.8     Profit function                                                                                                56      

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY                                                                            

3.1       Study Area                                                                                                      57   

3.2       Sampling Procedure                                                                                       59

3.3       Data Collection                                                                                              60

3.4       Analytical Technique                                                                                      60

3.5       Measurements of Variables                                                                            68

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1        Socio-economic Characteristics of Female and Male Heads of

             Arable Crop Farm Households                                                                     71

4.1.2    Socio-economic characteristics of female and male heads of arable

            crop farm households in relations to access to credit, farm size, labour

            and farm tools                                                                                                 73  

 

4.1.2.1   Access to credit                                                                                            73

4.1.2.2   Access to farm size                                                                                       75       

4.1.2.3   Access to labour use                                                                                     78

4.1.2.4   Depreciated value of farm tools                                                                   82

4.2        Production Function of the Female, Male and Pooled Headed Households 90

4.2.1     Stochastic production frontier function of the female, male

             and pooled headed households                                                                      84

4.2.2     Frequency distribution of respondent according to technical efficiency

             indices                                                                                                           90

4.3        Allocative and Economic Efficiency Measures of the Male and Female

             Headed Households                                                                                        92                                    

 

4.3.1     Stochastic cost function of the female, male and pooled headed

             households                                                                                                      94

 

4.3.2     Frequency distribution of respondents according to economic efficiency     96

                                                                                                                                 

4.3.3      Allocative efficiency of the male, female headed Households                      98                                                                             

   

4.4        Technical Change between the Output of the Male and Female Headed

              Households                                                                                                   100

 

 

4.4.1      Test for the equality of the coefficients                                                        100

4.4.2      Test for structural difference in the coefficients                                          101                        

4.4.3      Test for the heterogeneity of the intercepts                                                  102

4.4.4      Testing for the homogeneity of slope                                                           103

4.5         Assessment of the Relative Resource Use Efficiencies of the Male,

              Female and Pooled Farm Households                                                          104

4.6         Net Farm Income and Profit Functions of the Female and Male

              Headed Households                                                                                     108

 

4.6.1      Profit functions of the female and male headed households                       110                                         

 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS                

5.1       Summary                                                                                                         118

5.2       Conclusion                                                                                                      121

5.3       Recommendations                                                                                          121

5.4       Contribution to Knowledge                                                                            122

            References                                                                                                      123                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 LIST OF TABLES

4.1       Socio-economic characteristics of respondents                                     71

4.2       Statistical test of differences between means of age, education,

            farming experience and output of male and female heads of

            households                                                                                              72

 

4.3       Access to credit in relation to age, level of education, sex

            and farming experience                                                                          73

                                                                                                                                

4.4       Farm size in relation to age, level of education, sex

            and farming experience  and test of significance difference                  75 

                                                                              

4.5       Labour use in relation to age, level of education, sex 

            and farming experience and test of significance difference                   78

                                                                   

4.6      Age, level of education, sex and farming experience in relation

           to depreciated  value of farm tools  and test of significance difference  82 

 

4.7       Estimated stochastic production frontier function for the male

            and female headed households and pooled                                             84

 

4.8       Frequency distribution of the male and female headed households

            and pooled according to technical efficiency indices                             90

 

4.9      Estimated stochastic cost function for the male and female headed

            households and pooled                                                                           94

       

4.10    Frequency distribution of the male and female headed households

           and pooled according to economic efficiency indices                            96

 

4.11     Frequency distribution of the male and female headed households

             and pooled according to allocative efficiency indices                          98

 

4.12     Anova results of the determinants of the output of the male and

            female headed households  and pooled                                                101

 

 4.13    Resource use efficiency for the male and female headed households

            and pooled                                                                                             105

 

 

4.14   Net farm income of the male and female headed households               108

4.15    Comparison of the profit of the female and male headed households 109

4.16    Estimated profit function for the female headed households               110

4.17    Estimated profit function for the male headed households                   114

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF FIGURES

 2.1       Total production or response curve                             20

 2.2      Production function curve                                            21

 2.3      Linkage between resources and output/profit              37

 3.1      Map of Abia State showing 17 local Government

            Areas of the State                                                       58