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Fertilizer subsidy program is used to boost productivity by availing fertilizer to farmers at a cheaper price than the market price. This research sought to determine the technical efficiency of fertilizer subsidy program on coffee farming in Kenya. Coffee is a major cash crop of small-scale farmers, which has been experiencing declining productivity. The study adopted non-experimental cross-section research design. The study was carried out in Mukurwe-ini Sub-County, in Nyeri country, Kenya. Structured questionnaire were used to collect primary data from coffee farmers. Stochastic frontier production function (SFA) was used to evaluate the technical efficiency of coffee farming by analysing the relationship between coffee inputs and outputs. The SFA results revealed that fertilizer subsidy has a significant effect on technical efficiency. The technical efficiency for the individual farmers was found to range between 10.44% and 95.15% with a mean of 77.87%. The results revealed that about 76% of the coffee farmers were operating above 70 percent or more technical efficiency levels. Additionally, about 94% of the coffee farmers were operating at a technical efficiency level of above 50%. The coffee cooperative societies had variance in their technical efficiency - Rumukia at 80.65%, Ruthaka at 76.12%, Rugi at 79.97% and Gikaru at 79.24%. Technical inefficiency was found to be significantly influenced by age of the farmers and cooperative societies’ management. The study recommends development of inclusive policies that address income disparities among coffee farmers, improvement of cooperative societies’ management, and enhancing farmers’ trainings
Samuel Wandeto Mathagu (Sat,) studied this question.
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