Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture

Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 3/07


Comparative analysis of resource-productivity and technical efficiency of cocoa producers: a study of farmers under training & visit and farmer field school extension systems in Nigeria

Kolawole Ogundari
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany, and

Olalekan Odefadehan
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria


Abstract

This study empirically compares the resource-productivity and technical efficiency (TE) of cocoa farmers under the T&V (training & visit) and FFS (farmer field school) extension systems in Nigeria. The results show that farmers under the FFS were efficient in the use of resources, giving the result of the partial elasticities for the included variables (farm size, labour and agro chemicals) in the regression model compared to the T&V farmers. It was also found that over 70% of farmers under the FFS have TE of over 71% and above with an average score of 77%, while 53% of farmers under the T&V system have TE of 71% and above with an average score of 69%. This implies that a greater number of cocoa farmers under the FFS were better off in the use of available resources than those under T&V system. The policy implication is that there is a need to intensify full adoption and implementation of the FFS curriculum in all cocoa producing states in Nigeria.

Keywords: training and visit, farmer field school, resource-productivity, technical efficiency

JEL: C21, C8, C16

Vol. 46 (2007), No. 3: 205-219