Determinants of technical efficiency among smallholder upland rice farmers in northern Uganda—a Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier approach

Francisca Ndinda Muteti (), Irine Akite, Taddias Prince Mpofu and Basil Mugonola
Additional contact information
Francisca Ndinda Muteti: Gulu University
Irine Akite: Gulu University
Taddias Prince Mpofu: Gulu University
Basil Mugonola: Gulu University

SN Business & Economics, 2024, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Abstract In this paper, we estimate the technical efficiency levels among upland rice farmers in northern Uganda. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 248 farmers. By applying a Cobb–Douglas stochastic production frontier model, the study aims to gain insights into the efficiency of rice production and identify factors that contribute to it. The findings indicate that there is a scope for improvement in the technical efficiency of upland rice farmers in the region. The study identifies key factors that significantly impact rice output; land, labour, and the quantity of seeds used. Moreover, certain farmer characteristics such as membership in a farmer group, level of education, the type of rice buyer, and household size were found to reduce technical inefficiency among rice producers. These results underscore the importance of understanding individual farmer constraints and addressing barriers related to smallholder organizations and institutions to enhance upland rice productivity. The findings also highlight the need for farmer training programs that specifically target the efficient use of inputs in rice production. By providing farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills, such programs can contribute to improving overall efficiency in upland rice farming and environmental sustainability.

Keywords: Technical efficiency; Upland rice producers; Food security; Northern Uganda (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43546-023-00597-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:snbeco:v:4:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s43546-023-00597-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/43546

DOI: 10.1007/s43546-023-00597-z

Access Statistics for this article

SN Business & Economics is currently edited by Gino D'Oca

More articles in SN Business & Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().