Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Potato Farmers in Mezam Division of the Northwest Region of Cameroon

Louis Atamja; Sungjoon Yoo

doi:10.22698/jales.20220013

All Issue

2022 Vol.34, Issue 2 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Potato Farmers in Mezam Division of the Northwest Region of Cameroon

31 July 2022. pp. 118-133

PDF XML

Abstract

Potato is among the main cash and staple foods in Cameroon that has witnessed significant increase over the last decade. However, potato production in Cameroon lags behind that of other African countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the technical efficiency of potato farmers in Santa and Kumbo sub division in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Data for this study were collected from potato farmers using multistage sampling technique and subjected to a stochastic frontier production function. The result showed that potato farmers have a mean technical efficiency of 0.62. This suggests that potato production can be significantly increased through improved and efficient use of resources. Credit access and farmers’ age were found to significantly influence the technical efficiency of potato farmers. As credit access improves the technical efficiency of potato farmers, it is important for the government to subsidize microfinance institutions to provide credit to farmers.

Keywords

Mezam division

Potato production

Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA)

Technical efficiency

Translog production function

References

Aigner, D. J., Chu, S. F. (1968) On estimating the industry production function. Am Econ Rev 58:826-839. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815535

Aigner, D., Lovell, C., Schmidt, P. (1977) Formation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models. J Econom 6:21-37. 10.1016/0304-4076(77)90052-5

Ajibefun, I. A., Daramola, A. G., Falusi, A. O. (2006) Technical efficiency of small scale farmers: An application of the stochastic frontier production function to rural and urban farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. J Int Econ 20:87-107. 10.1080/10168730500515498

Ajibefun, I., Battese, G., Daramola, A. (2002) Determinants of technical efficiency in smallholder food crop farming: Application of stochastic frontier production function. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 41:225-240.

Akamin, A., Bidogeza, J. C., Afari-Sefa, V. (2017) Efficiency and productivity analysis of vegetable farming within root and tuber-based systems in the humid tropics of Cameroon. J Integr Agric 16:1865-1873. 10.1016/S2095-3119(17)61662-9

Alem, H. (2021) The role of technical efficiency achieving sustainable development: a dynamic analysis of norwegian dairy farms. Sustainability 13:1841. 10.3390/su13041841

Anoumaa, M., Kanmegne, G., Kouam, E. B., Amzati, G. S., Yao, N. K., Fonkou, T., Mbouobda, H. D., Arslanoglu, F., Omokolo, D. N. (2016) Characterization of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes from the western highlands region of cameroon using morphological and agronomic traits. Plant Sci 4:185.

Battese, G. E., Coelli, T. J. (1995) A model for technical inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier production function for panel data. Empir Econ 20:325-332. 10.1007/BF01205442

Battese, G. E., Corra, G. S. (1977) Estimation of a production frontier model: with application to the pastoral zone of Eastern Australia. Aust J Agric Econ 21:169-179. 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1977.tb00204.x

Benjamin, D., Brandt, L. (2002) Property rights, labour markets, and efficiency in a transition economy: the case of rural China. Can J Econ 35:689-716. 10.1111/1540-5982.00150

Bihnchang, N. L., Mapiemfu-Lamare. D., Fornkwa, V. Y., Fotso, K. G., Njualem, D. K. (2017) Six improved Cameroonian Potato Varieties introduced in Vitro through Meristem Culture. Int J Sci Basic Appl Res 36:180-186.

Binam, J. N., Tonye, J., Nyambi, G., Akoa, M. (2004) Factors affecting the technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in the slash and burn agriculture zone of Cameroon. Food Policy 29:531-545. 10.1016/j.foodpol.2004.07.013

Coelli, T. J., Rao, D. S. P., O'Donnell, C. J., Battese, G. E. (2005) An introduction to efficiency and productivity analysis. Springer Science & Business Media Berlin, Germany.

Cornia, G. A. (1985) Farm size, land yields and the agricultural production function: An analysis for fifteen developing countries. World Dev 13:513-534. 10.1016/0305-750X(85)90054-3

Deffo, V., Demo, P. (2003) Adoption of two new potato varieties in Cameroon: Progress and constraints. Am J Potato Res 80:263-269. 10.1007/BF02855362

Desiré, T. V., Fosah, M. R., Desiré, M. H., Fotso (2018) Effect of indigenous and effective microorganism fertilizers on soil microorganisms and yield of Irish potato in Bambili, Cameroon. Afr J Microbiol Res 12:345-353, 21. 10.5897/AJMR2017.8601

Djomo, J. M. N., Sikod, F. (2012) The effects of human capital on agricultural productivity and farmer's income in Cameroon. International Business Research 5:134. 10.5539/ibr.v5n4p149

FAO (2020) Data, Production, Crop, Available online https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL (Accessed on 28 September 2021)

Farrell, M. J. (1957) The measurement of productive efficiency. J R Stat Soc Ser A Stat Soc 120:253-290. 10.2307/2343100

FiBL (2019) Organic potato production. https://www.organic-africa.net/fileadmin/organic-africa/documents/training-manual/chapter-09/Organic_Potato_Production_Cameroon_Pre-Version-Feb-2019.pdf (Accessed on 28 November 2021)

Fontem, D. A., Demo, P., Njualem, D. K. (2004) Status of potato production, marketing and utilization in Cameroon. In Advances in Roots and Tuber Crop Technologies for Sustainable Food Security, Improved Nutrition, Wealth Creation and Environmental Conservation in Africa; Kenya Agricultural Research Institute: Nairobi, Kenya.

Fontem, D. A., Gumedzoe, M. Y., Nono-Womdim, R. (1999) Biological constraints in tomato production in the western highlands of Cameroon. Tropicultura 16:89-89.

Griffin, K., Khan, A. R., Ickowitz, A. (2002) Poverty and Distribution of Land. J Agrar Change 2:279-330. 10.1111/1471-0366.00036

Harahagazwe, D. (2018) Building sustainable potato enterprises in Cameroon. International potato center. https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/106039/1382-GIZ0%20Building_sustainable_potato_Cameroon_pp.pdf?sequence=4 (Accessed on 31 August 2021)

Huang, C. J., Liu, J. T. (1994) Estimation of a non-neutral stochastic frontier production function. J Product Anal 5:171-180. 10.1007/BF01073853

Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). (2011) Growth and Productivity in Agriculture and Agribusiness: Evaluative Lessons from World Bank Group Experience. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2279 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.

Investir au Cameroon, (2021) https://www.businessincameroon.com/agriculture/1505-9128-80-of-cameroon-s-potato-production-comes-from-the-west-and-northwest-giz-procisa. (Accessed on 10 August, 2021)

Kane, G. Q., Fondo, S., Abayomi Oyekale, S. (2012) Efficiency of groundnuts/maize intercropped farms in Zoetele, South Cameroon: a DEA approach. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/62757/1/MPRA_paper_62755.pdf (Accessed on 05 October 2021)

Karimov, A. A. (2014) Factors affecting efficiency of cotton producers in rural Khorezm, Uzbekistan: Re-examining the role of knowledge indicators in technical efficiency improvement. Agric Food Econ 2:1-16. 10.1186/s40100-014-0007-0

Karimov, A. A., NiÇo-Zarazffla, M. (2015) 4.3 Assessing Efficiency of input Utilization in Wheat Production in Uzbekistan. Restructuring land allocation, water use and agricultural value chains: Technologies, policies and practices for the lower Amudarya region, pp.231-251. 10.14220/9783737002974.231

Kebede, T. A. (2001) Farm Household Technical Efficiency: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis: A Study of Rice Producers in Mardi Watershed in the Western Development Region of Nepal. MSc Thesis, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Agricultural University of Norway, Norway.

Knoema Statistics (2020) Cameroon-Crops, items, potatoes - production. Available online https://knoema.com/FAOPRDSC2020/production-statistics-crops-crops-processed?tsId=1053650 (Accessed on 15 September 2021)

Kodde, D. A., Palm, F. C. (1986) Wald criteria for jointly testing equality and inequality restrictions. Econometrica, 54:1243-1248. 10.2307/1912331

Kumbhakar, S. C., Ghosh, S., McGuckin, J. T. (1991) A generalized production frontier approach for estimating determinants of inefficiency in U.S. dairy farms. J Bus Econ Stat 9:279-286. 10.1080/07350015.1991.10509853

Kumbhakar, S. C., Wang, H. J., Horncastle, A. P. (2015) A Practitioner's Guide to Stochastic Frontier Analysis Using Stata; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. 10.1017/CBO9781139342070

Lau, L. (1986) Functional Forms of Econometric Model Building. In Griliches, Z. And Intriligator, M.D. eds., Handbook of Econometrics 3:1513-1566. 10.1016/S1573-4412(86)03006-4

Lien, G., Kumbhakar, S. C., Alem, H. (2018) Endogeneity, heterogeneity, and determinants of inefficiency in Norwegian crop-producing farms. Int J Prod Econ 201:53-61. 10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.04.023

Mbarga, J. S. E., Sotamenou, J., Tabe-Ojong, M. P. JR., Molua, E. (2018) Technical efficiency of maize production in the Centre region of Cameroon: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Developing Country Studies 8:64-72.

Mbouobda, H. D., Fotso, F. O. T. S. O., Djeuani, C. A., Baliga, M. O., Omokolo, D. N. (2014) Comparative evaluation of enzyme activities and phenol content of Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) grown under EM and IMO manures Bokashi. Int J Biol Chem Sci 8:157-166. 10.4314/ijbcs.v8i1.15

Meeusen, W., Broeck, J. van den (1977) Technical efficiency and dimension of the firm: Some results on the use of frontier production functions. Empirical Economics 2:109-122. 10.1007/BF01767476

Mengui, K. C., Oh, S., Lee S. H. (2019) The Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Irish Potato Producers in Santa Sub-division, Cameroon. Agriculture 9:259. 10.3390/agriculture9120259

Morais, G. A. S., Silva, F. F., Freitas, C. O. D., Braga, M. J. (2021) Irrigation, Technical Efficiency, and Farm Size: The Case of Brazil. Sustainability 13:1132. 10.3390/su13031132

Mukete, N., Li, Z., Beckline, M., Patricia, B. (2018) Cocoa Production in Cameroon: A Socioeconomic and Technical Efficiency Perspective. Int J Agric Econ 3:1-8. 10.11648/j.ijae.20180301.11

Murthy, K. V. (2002) Arguing a case for Cobb-Douglas production function. Review of Commerce Studies, 20:21.

Nchare, A. (2007) Analysis of factors affecting the technical efficiency of arabica coffee producers in Cameroon. ERC Research Paper 163, African Economic Research Consortium, Nairobi. RP_163 (africaportal.org) (Accessed on 20 August 2021)

Omotilewa, O. J., Jayne, T. S., Muyanga, M., Aromolaran, A. B., Liverpool-Tasie, L. S. O., Awokuse, T. (2021) A revisit of farm size and productivity: Empirical evidence from a wide range of farm sizes in Nigeria. World Dev 146:105592. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.10559234602709PMC8350315

Orelien. T. F. (2021) Access to Credit and Farm Efficiency in Cameroon: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach. South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics 12:48-62. 10.9734/sajsse/2021/v12i230303

Piabuo, S. M., Yakan, H. B., Puatwoe, J. T., Nonzienwo, V. Y., Mamboh, T. R. (2020) Effect of rural farmers' access to information on price and profits in Cameroon, Cogent Food Agric 6:1. 10.1080/23311932.2020.1799530

Reifschneider, D., Stevenson, R. (1991) Systematic Departures from the Frontier: A Framework for the Analysis of Firm Inefficiency. International Economic Review 32:715-723. 10.2307/2527115

Strateges (2021) Local Economic Development: The code of the Kumbo Potato cluster. https://www.strategiesconsultingfirm.com/2021/08/19/local-economic-development-the-case-of-the-kumbo-potato-cluster/ (Accessed on 14 December 2021)

Sustainable Development Goals (2022) The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals , https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/40156/25/S1801140_en.pdf (Accessed on 14 January 2022)

Tabe-Ojong Jr, M. P., Molua, E. L. (2017) Technical efficiency of smallholder tomato production in semi-urban farms in Cameroon: A stochastic frontier production approach. J Mgmt Sustainability 7:27. 10.5539/jms.v7n4p27

Tchio, E. T., Meka, S. S., Njualem, D. K. (2020) Screening of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Genotypes for Adaptability in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. Asian Journal of Research in Botany pp.16-27.

Umar, H. S., Girei, A. A., Yakubu, D. (2017) Comparison of Cobb-Douglas and Translog frontier models in the analysis of technical efficiency in dry-season tomato production. Agrosearch 17:67-77. 10.4314/agrosh.v17i2.6

World Development Report (WDR). (2008) Agriculture for Development; The World Bank: Washington, DC, USA.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (2005) WWF Cameroon strategic vision on food and agriculture. https://cameroon.panda.org/our_work/food_and_agriculture/ (Accessed on 14 January 2022)

Information

Publisher :Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Institute, Kangwon National University
Publisher(Ko) :강원대학교 농업생명과학대학 농업생명과학연구원
Journal Title :Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
Journal Title(Ko) :농업생명환경연구
Volume : 34
No :2
Pages :118-133
Received Date : 2022-01-20
Revised Date : 2022-04-26
Accepted Date : 2022-04-28
DOI :https://doi.org/10.22698/jales.20220013

Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences ISSN:2233-8322(Print) 2508-870X(Online) 농업생명환경연구

All Issue