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Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya

Received: 7 August 2024     Accepted: 2 September 2024     Published: 18 October 2024
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Abstract

Sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas L.), particularly the orange fleshed variety, have become increasingly popular due to their ability to thrive in various environmental conditions with minimal inputs. Orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) show potential for productivity, yet smallholder farmers in Kenya still struggle to maximize their yields. The factors influencing OFSP production efficiency among these farmers in Western Kenya have not been thoroughly examined. This study evaluated the technical efficiency of OFSP production among smallholder farmers in Migori County. Using a descriptive research design, a sample of 225 OFSP farmers was randomly selected by a cluster sampling technique. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire on inputs and selected socio-economic factors. The data was analyzed using the frontier stochastic model in STATA. Smallholder farmers estimated mean technical efficiency was 77.82% significant variables were; size of the land, availability of planting vines, access to hired labour, gender of the household decision maker, farming experience, household size, land ownership status, participation in training programs and extension services, and proximity to markets, indicating a need to improve OFSP production by 22.18%. These findings suggest that to reduce inefficiencies among smallholder OFSP farmers, targeted training programs are needed to enhance farmers' agronomic knowledge specific to OFSP production. Further, policy interventions should prioritize the provision of extension services to support and improve the performance of OFSP smallholder farmers.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 13, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18
Page(s) 190-201
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Technical Efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Model, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, Productivity, Smallholder Farmer

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    Jabuya, L. O., Munyiri, S. W., Njogu, M. K. (2024). Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 13(5), 190-201. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18

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    ACS Style

    Jabuya, L. O.; Munyiri, S. W.; Njogu, M. K. Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya. Agric. For. Fish. 2024, 13(5), 190-201. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18

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    AMA Style

    Jabuya LO, Munyiri SW, Njogu MK. Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya. Agric For Fish. 2024;13(5):190-201. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18,
      author = {Lawrence Otieno Jabuya and Shelmith Wanja Munyiri and Martin Kagiki Njogu},
      title = {Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya
    },
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {13},
      number = {5},
      pages = {190-201},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20241305.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20241305.18},
      abstract = {Sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas L.), particularly the orange fleshed variety, have become increasingly popular due to their ability to thrive in various environmental conditions with minimal inputs. Orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) show potential for productivity, yet smallholder farmers in Kenya still struggle to maximize their yields. The factors influencing OFSP production efficiency among these farmers in Western Kenya have not been thoroughly examined. This study evaluated the technical efficiency of OFSP production among smallholder farmers in Migori County. Using a descriptive research design, a sample of 225 OFSP farmers was randomly selected by a cluster sampling technique. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire on inputs and selected socio-economic factors. The data was analyzed using the frontier stochastic model in STATA. Smallholder farmers estimated mean technical efficiency was 77.82% significant variables were; size of the land, availability of planting vines, access to hired labour, gender of the household decision maker, farming experience, household size, land ownership status, participation in training programs and extension services, and proximity to markets, indicating a need to improve OFSP production by 22.18%. These findings suggest that to reduce inefficiencies among smallholder OFSP farmers, targeted training programs are needed to enhance farmers' agronomic knowledge specific to OFSP production. Further, policy interventions should prioritize the provision of extension services to support and improve the performance of OFSP smallholder farmers. 
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    T1  - Analysis of Technical Efficiency on Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Production Among the Smallholder Farmers in Migori County Kenya
    
    AU  - Lawrence Otieno Jabuya
    AU  - Shelmith Wanja Munyiri
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    AB  - Sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas L.), particularly the orange fleshed variety, have become increasingly popular due to their ability to thrive in various environmental conditions with minimal inputs. Orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) show potential for productivity, yet smallholder farmers in Kenya still struggle to maximize their yields. The factors influencing OFSP production efficiency among these farmers in Western Kenya have not been thoroughly examined. This study evaluated the technical efficiency of OFSP production among smallholder farmers in Migori County. Using a descriptive research design, a sample of 225 OFSP farmers was randomly selected by a cluster sampling technique. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire on inputs and selected socio-economic factors. The data was analyzed using the frontier stochastic model in STATA. Smallholder farmers estimated mean technical efficiency was 77.82% significant variables were; size of the land, availability of planting vines, access to hired labour, gender of the household decision maker, farming experience, household size, land ownership status, participation in training programs and extension services, and proximity to markets, indicating a need to improve OFSP production by 22.18%. These findings suggest that to reduce inefficiencies among smallholder OFSP farmers, targeted training programs are needed to enhance farmers' agronomic knowledge specific to OFSP production. Further, policy interventions should prioritize the provision of extension services to support and improve the performance of OFSP smallholder farmers. 
    
    VL  - 13
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