Production efficiency in Peasant Agriculture: The Case of Mixed Farming System in the Ethiopian Highlands

Mariam, Yohannes and Coffin, Garth and Eisemon, Thomas (1993): Production efficiency in Peasant Agriculture: The Case of Mixed Farming System in the Ethiopian Highlands.

Abstract

An aggregate measure of production efficiency involving crop and livestock enterprises is examined in the Selale and Ada regions of Ethiopia using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In general, farmers in regions more suitable to crop production (Ada) tend to attain higher production efficiency compared to farmers in regions suitable to livestock production (Selale).

This implies that Ada farmers produce agricultural outputs with a minimal outlay of inputs. DEA results also reveal that farmers who adopted cross-bred cows (refrred as test farmers) are more efficient than those who have not adopted ( referred as control farmers) in both study sites. Analysis of the contribution of socioeconomic variables to measures of production efficiency indicated that the magnitude of knowledge-related variables (i.e. production knowledge and schooling) are relatively higher compared to physical or other non-physical variables. This finding implies that sustainable increases in production efficiency and attainment of food self-sufficiency could be attained if development strategies design methods of incorporating indigenous production knowledge of peasants in the planning process.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Production efficiency; Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); agriculture; knowledge Ethiopia. technologies; peasants
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation ; Agriculture and Environment; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Biofuels ; Agricultural Extension Services; D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D13 - Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation; D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D83 - Search ; Learning ; Information and Knowledge ; Communication ; Belief ; Unawareness; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods ; Programming Models ; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling > C61 - Optimization Techniques ; Programming Models ; Dynamic Analysis; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O38 - Government Policy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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