Technical Efficiency of Small Scale Poultry-Egg Production in Nigeria: Empirical Study of Poultry Farmers in Imo State, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to determine the technical efficiency of poultry egg production in Nigeria. A sample of 60 poultry-egg farmers was selected by multistage sampling procedure and data were collected by using a structured questionnaire. A stochastic frontier production function was specified and estimated, using maximum likelihood estimation. The results showed that labour, farm size, feed cost, capital and utilities have a positive and significant impact on output and mean technical efficiency is 0.58 with a range of 0.43-0.76. Farm size, extension contact, credit, feed intake, drugs, level of education and farming experience had positive and significant impact on technical efficiency. On the contrary, labour had a significant negative effect on technical efficiency. Recommendations include increase in farm size, provision of more extension services and increased access to credit, medication, education and cheap feed.