TECHNICAL EFFFCIENCY OF THE ADOPTERS OF TEFF ROW PLANTING IN CHEHA WOREDA OF GURAGIE ZONE, SOUTHERN NATIONS NATIONALITIES AND PEOPLES REGION, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

This study was designed to measure technical efficiency of teff row planter farmers and identifies its determinants in Cheha Woreda of Guragie Zone. The study was based on cross-sectional datas collected during 2015/16 production year from 118 randomly selected households identified through Multi-stage sampling technique. One-stage Stochastic production frontier model with Cobb-Douglas functional form was used to estimate technical efficiency and to identify its determinants simultaneously. The analysis results of the model depicted that, labor and oxen power have significant positive effect on teff productivity whereas quantity of teff seed and size of teff row planted land have significant negative effect on it. The model output also indicated that, 81.3% of the variation in teff output from the frontier was attributed to technical inefficiency and the mean technical efficiency of sample farmers was 90.93%. Level of education, access to credit, use of improved seed variety, experience on teff row planting, frequency of extension contact and non-farm income have significant positive effect on technical efficiency of teff row planter farmers whereas sowing on distant farm have significant negative effect. Hence, improving farmer’s awareness on the right and efficient utilization of significant inputs is critical to improve their teff productivity. Moreover, creating further educational opportunities for farmers, facilitating access to credit, ensuring frequent and more reliable extension contacts, encouraging the use of improved teff variety, strengthening farmers participation on supportive non-farm activities, encouraging farmers to practice row planting activity more and sowing teff on the nearer farm are vitally important to improve technical efficiency of teff row planter farmers in Cheha Woreda