ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the Production Efficiency and Market Participation among Turmeric farmers in Abia State of Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socioeconomic characteristics ofthe turmeric farmers; estimated the production function for the turmeric farmers, their technical efficiency levels and the factors that determine their technical efficiency; analyzed their resource use efficiency indices; estimated their level of market participation and the factors that determine their level of crop output market participation, as well as investigated their constraints to market participation in the study area. A structured questionnaire was used to interview 120 turmeric farmers selected at random in order to collect the required data. The primary data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier model, technical efficiency index, marginal analysis, technical inefficiency model, market participation index and Tobit regression analysis. The results showed that turmeric farming and marketing were dominated by the female farmers who were married and fall within the active age bracket of 40 - 59 years. All ofthem attained formal education with an average of 2.6 years’ experience in turmeric farming and marketing. Majority ofthe turmeric farmers were smallholders with a mean farm size of 0.4 hectares and belonged to cooperative society. Most of them had no access to both credit facilities and market information. Their average technical efficiency score was 0.506. In terms ofresource use efficiency, they over-utilized labour, fertilizer and pesticides while land and planting material, househod size, gender, poor access to credits and inadequate extension contact were found to be the significant sources oftechnical inefficiency among the turmeric farmers, and were underutilized. Their average level of market participation was found to be 0.749, with the majority (92%) of them unable to achieve. Their average level of market clearance of their production surpluses offered for sale. Results of Tobit analysis showed that age, educational level, access to market information, market selling price and quantity of turmeric harvested were the significant factors that influenced the extent of market participation by turmeric farmers in Abia State. Poor sales, high cost of transportation, high costs of inputs, poor pricing, lack of modern processing equipment, bad condition of roads to nearby market, poor awareness of turmeric benefits, inadequate credit facilities and poor storage facilities were the constraints to their market participation. Hypotheses testing showed that the turmeric farmers in Abia State were not efficient in both resource use and output maximization, while their technical efficiency was significantly determined by their age, educational level, membership of cooperative society, access to credit and farming experience. Based on the findings, the study recommends that turmeric farmers should be given orientation in resource use management, provided with credit facilities, good roads, modern processing equipment, market information and turmeric export trade intermediation by government agencies.