Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Cassava Farmers in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the technical efficiency of cassava farmers in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers; determine the technical efficiency of cassava farmers; estimate the determinants of technical efficiency among cassava farmers and examined the constraints militating against cassava production in the study area. Multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting 120 respondents for the study. Primary data were obtained using structured questionnaire and the data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier production function. The result showed that the average age, household size, farming experience, and farm size of the sampled respondents were 39 years, 4 persons, 6 years and 1.9 hectares, respectively. The mean, maximum and minimum technical efficiency were 0.73, 0.95 and 0.38. The findings on the estimated stochastic production function and the determinants of technical inefficiency showed that farm size (p<0.01), cuttings (p<0.01) and labour (p<0.01) were found to be significant inputs in cassava production while household size (p<0.1), education (p<0.01), monthly income (p<0.01), membership of cooperative (p<0.01), access to credit (p<0.01) and access to extension services (p<0.1) were the determinants of technical inefficiency of cassava production in the study area. Also, the major constraints to cassava production were, high cost of fertilizer (13.7%), theft (13.7%), lack of access to credit (13.7%), inadequate access to land (13.7%), and poor road network (13.7%). The study recommends that training and capacity-building programs should be targeted to improve farmers' knowledge and skills in efficient cassava production techniques, with a focus on optimizing inputs such as farm size, cuttings, labour and extension services. Also outreach programs should be strengthened to provide farmers with timely information, technical support, and best practices for cassava production, thereby reducing technical inefficiencies.