A multi-output production efficiency analysis of commercial banana farms in the Volta region of Ghana: A stochastic distance function approach

Amos Mensah and Bernhard Brümmer

African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2016, vol. 11, issue 4, 12

Abstract: The banana sector makes a significant contribution to the Ghanaian economy in terms of employment, fiscal revenue and foreign exchange. However, decreasing productivity in the sector, coupled with price volatility, has led to a sharp decline in output. The strong export-oriented nature of the sector requires continuous improvement in productivity to enhance the sector’s competitiveness. The efficient use of production resources through the improvement of farmers’ production efficiency could enhance the competitiveness of the sector in international trade. By means of a stochastic frontier approach, an output distance function estimation technique was used to analyse and explore factors driving productivity in Ghana’s banana sector. The results of the study show that sources of decreasing productivity are closely linked to the effect of current farm production techniques, poor agronomic practices and household-specific attributes.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Production Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:afjare:252460

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.252460

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