A stochastic frontier analysis of technical efficiency in smallholder maize production in Zimbabwe: The post-fast-track land reform outlook

Abstract

This article analyses the technical efficiency of maize production in Zimbabwe’s smallholder farming communities following the fast-track land reform of the year 2000 with a view of highlighting key entry points for policy. Using a randomly selected sample of 522 smallholder maize producers, a stochastic frontier production model was applied, using a linearised Cobb–Douglas production function to determine the production elasticity coefficients of inputs, technical efficiency and the determinants of efficiency. The study finds that maize output responds positively to increases in inorganic fertilisers, seed quantity, the use of labour and the area planted. The technical efficiency analysis suggests that about 90% of farmers in the sample are between 60 and 75% efficient, with an average efficiency in the sample of 65%. The significant determinants of technical efficiency were the gender of the household head, household size, frequency of extension visits, farm size and the farming region. The results imply that the average efficiency of maize production could be improved by 35% through better use of existing resources and technology. The results highlight the need for government and private sector assistance in improving efficiency by promoting access to productive resources and ensuring better and more reliable agricultural extension services.

Keywords:

• technical efficiency
• maize
• stochastic frontier model
• smallholder farmers
• Zimbabwe

Public Interest Statement

This article concerns technical efficiency of crop production as an important aspect of pursuing output growth in agriculture in developing countries. Following the fast-track land reform of 2000, Zimbabwe’s smallholder farming communities have grown significantly and now produce the bulk of the country’s maize. However, the sector’s productivity remains low, with yield per hectare averaging only about 0.7 tonnes, seemingly because of technical inefficiencies. This paper contributes to the current debate in finding ways of raising maize productivity in smallholder farming by highlighting key entry points for policy. Findings show that maize output responds positively to increases in inorganic fertilisers, seed quantity, the use of labour and the area planted. This implies that the average efficiency of maize production could be improved through government and private sector assistance in promoting access to productive resources and ensuring better and more reliable agricultural extension services.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Janine Thorne for editing this article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial assistance received from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that was used in carrying out this study.

Notes on contributors

Nelson Mango

Nelson Mango is a rural development sociologist specialised in agrarian transformation processes, with an emphasis on small-scale farming, technology development and social change, endogenous development and rural livelihoods. Over the years, he has done substantive fieldwork on socio-technical dimensions of maize, zero grazing dairy farming, and soil fertility (re)production in East Africa. He has also worked on livestock, livelihoods and poverty in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa using a wide range of methodologies drawn from both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. In the southern Africa region, his research focused on Conservation Agriculture and how to improve farmers’ livelihoods through multi-stakeholder innovation platforms and linking them to extension and business development services. Currently his research work has shifted to East and Central Africa with focus on value chains for nutrition and health, and Policy, Institutions and Markets. Theoretically, he combines actor perspective with broader questions related to political economy.