Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Farm size and resource-use efficiency in peasant production of rice |
Author: | Adeniyi, J.P. |
Year: | 1987 |
Periodical: | The Nigerian Geographical Journal |
Volume: | 30-31 |
Issue: | 1-2 |
Pages: | 93-101 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | labour productivity rice efficiency |
Abstract: | One of the possible means of increasing the yield and/or reducing the production cost of rice is through farm size adjustment. This paper examines the resource use efficiency on rice farms of different sizes in Nigeria. A survey was carried out among farmers in the major rice producing areas of Kwara State: Shonga and Pategi in Edu Local Government Area, and Otube in Kogi Local Government Area. A theoretical discussion of resource allocation efficiency in agriculture is followed by a description of a production function and its empirical estimation. It is shown that the MVP (marginal value product) of labour was 0.56 on large farms as against 0.17 on small farms, reflecting the higher labour input per hectare on the latter. The MVP of operating expenses was positive on large farms but negative on small farms. In addition, it is shown that, while labour was efficiently utilized on small farms, the use of this input was less efficient on large farms. On the other hand, the allocation of operating expenses was efficient on both large and small farms. The study further reveals increasing returns to scale on both large and small farms. On the whole, only few significant inefficiencies in resource allocation were observed, thus suggesting that a reallocation of resources may have little or no positive effect on rice output. Bibliogr. |