Suchergebnisse

The objective of this thesis is to examine the production and marketing performance of vegetables in the eastern and central parts of Ethiopia. Efficiency estimation and identification of their determinants in mixed-crop and market-driven (vegetables) production systems was performed in two districts of eastern Ethiopia. A significant economic inefficiency was observed for both systems, with lower efficiency scores for the market-driven farm production. The improvement in efficiency calls for institutional capacity building that enhances asset and capital formation, extension and credit services, consumption and family planning know-how and crop specialization. Results based on the comparison of the two production systems show that lower economic efficiency scores for the market-driven production is attributable to limited access to capital markets, high consumer spending, and large family size. Furthermore, an assessment of the marketing performance of vegetables is conducted. Since most produce sales are based on relational contracting with traders, the study of market performance encompasses an analysis of grower-trader marketing contract enforcement and factors influencing it. Results show that despite its poor performance, contract enforcement is mainly due to mutual trust and brokers' mediation. Information access, trader-specific investments, farmer's age, whether the buyer is a trader, dependency on the trader, relationship duration, transaction frequency, and distance to the trader were found to be the significant factors affecting contract enforceability through brokers. Risks related to perishability and seasonality of supply, illiteracy, and client-buyer's type were found to be the significant factors causing contract breaches by the traders. In addition, traders' produce pricing behavior in the procurement of vegetables from growers is analyzed. Results show that traders capture a significant proportion of the marketing surplus due to market power and audacity to absorb risk with this share varying along the degree of perishability and across cities. In general, the results of this study reveal the existence of considerable economic inefficiency in production, poor contract enforcement, and imperfect competition in the marketing of vegetables. The findings of this study indicate the need for governmental and/or private institutions interventions to improve the production and marketing performance of vegetables by providing the necessary institutional support to the smallholder farmers in the study areas.

This study aims to analyze the technical efficiency of sorghum production by smallholder farmers in Konso district, Southern Ethiopia using cross sectional data collected from a sample of 124 sorghum producing households. Individual levels of technical efficiency scores were estimated using the Cobb-Douglas functional form, which was specified to estimate the stochastic production frontier. The estimated stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land size, fertilizer (Urea and DAP), labour, oxen power and chemicals (herbicides or pesticides) found to be important factors in increasing the level of sorghum output in the study area. The result further revealed significant differences in technical efficiency among sorghum producers in the study area. The discrepancy ratio, which measures the relative deviation of output from the frontier level due to inefficiency, was about 90%. The estimated mean of technical efficiency of the sample households was about 69%, which shows existence of a possibility to increase the level of sorghum output by about 31% by efficient use of the existing resources. Among the household specific socio-economic and institutional factors hypothesized to affect the level of technical inefficiency, age, education level, family size, off/non-farm activities, extension contact, livestock holding, plots distance and soil fertility were found to be significant in determining the level of technical inefficiency of sorghum production in the study area. Negative coefficients of education level, family size, off/non-farm activities, extension contact and soil fertility indicates that improvement in these factors results in a significant decrease in the level of technical inefficiency. Akin, positive coefficients of age, livestock holding and plots distance were found to increase households' technical inefficiency. Hence, emphasis should be given to improve the efficiency level of those less efficient households by adopting the practices of relatively efficient households in the study area. Beside this, policies and strategies of the government should be directed towards the above mentioned determinants.

This study aims to analyze the technical efficiency of sorghum production by smallholder farmers in Konso district, Southern Ethiopia using cross sectional data collected from a sample of 124 sorghum producing households. Individual levels of technical efficiency scores were estimated using the Cobb-Douglas functional form, which was specified to estimate the stochastic production frontier. The estimated stochastic production frontier model indicated that input variables such as land size, fertilizer (Urea and DAP), labour, oxen power and chemicals (herbicides or pesticides) found to be important factors in increasing the level of sorghum output in the study area. The result further revealed significant differences in technical efficiency among sorghum producers in the study area. The discrepancy ratio, which measures the relative deviation of output from the frontier level due to inefficiency, was about 90%. The estimated mean of technical efficiency of the sample households was about 69%, which shows existence of a possibility to increase the level of sorghum output by about 31% by efficient use of the existing resources. Among the household specific socio-economic and institutional factors hypothesized to affect the level of technical inefficiency, age, education level, family size, off/non-farm activities, extension contact, livestock holding, plots distance and soil fertility were found to be significant in determining the level of technical inefficiency of sorghum production in the study area. Negative coefficients of education level, family size, off/non-farm activities, extension contact and soil fertility indicates that improvement in these factors results in a significant decrease in the level of technical inefficiency. Akin, positive coefficients of age, livestock holding and plots distance were found to increase households' technical inefficiency. Hence, emphasis should be given to improve the efficiency level of those less efficient households by adopting the practices of relatively efficient households in the study area. Beside this, policies and strategies of the government should be directed towards the above mentioned determinants.