Sources of Technical Efficiency among Smallholder Maize Farmers in Osun State of Nigeria

There have been several attempts by the government to improve the productivity of food crops on small farms, particularly for maize including the development of high yielding maize varieties, subsidization of farm inputs, provision of credit facilities and the liberalization of farm produce prices and marketing. While there have been several studies on Technical efficiency in Nigeria, the focus has mainly been on cassava, rice cocoyam, cowpea and cotton. This study estimates technical efficiency among smallholder maize farmers in Nigeria and identifies sources of inefficiency using plot-level data. The reseachers find that smallholder maize farmers in Nigeria are inefficient. The results of the study reveal that inefficiency declines on plots planted with hybrid seeds and for those controlled by farmers who belong to households with membership in a farmers association.