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
0.0
IFEOMA, C (2023). Relative Technical Change And Production Efficiency Of Male And Female Smallholder Arable Crop Farm Households In Abia State, Nigeria. Repository.mouau.edu.ng: Retrieved Oct 30, 2024, from https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/relative-technical-change-and-production-efficiency-of-male-and-female-smallholder-arable-crop-farm-households-in-abia-state-nigeria-7-2
CHARITY, IFEOMA. "Relative Technical Change And Production Efficiency Of Male And Female Smallholder Arable Crop Farm Households In Abia State, Nigeria" Repository.mouau.edu.ng. Repository.mouau.edu.ng, 14 Aug. 2023, https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/relative-technical-change-and-production-efficiency-of-male-and-female-smallholder-arable-crop-farm-households-in-abia-state-nigeria-7-2. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
CHARITY, IFEOMA. "Relative Technical Change And Production Efficiency Of Male And Female Smallholder Arable Crop Farm Households In Abia State, Nigeria". Repository.mouau.edu.ng, Repository.mouau.edu.ng, 14 Aug. 2023. Web. 30 Oct. 2024. < https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/relative-technical-change-and-production-efficiency-of-male-and-female-smallholder-arable-crop-farm-households-in-abia-state-nigeria-7-2 >.
CHARITY, IFEOMA. "Relative Technical Change And Production Efficiency Of Male And Female Smallholder Arable Crop Farm Households In Abia State, Nigeria" Repository.mouau.edu.ng (2023). Accessed 30 Oct. 2024. https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/relative-technical-change-and-production-efficiency-of-male-and-female-smallholder-arable-crop-farm-households-in-abia-state-nigeria-7-2