Productivity Growth in Food Crop Production in Imo State, Nigeria

Agriculture plays pivotal roles in Nigeria including food security, employment, foreign exchange earnings and poverty reduction. This study examined the growth in food crop productivity in Imo State in Nigeria with emphasis on the decomposition of total factor productivity (TFP) into technical progress, changes in technical and allocative efficiency and scale effects. A panel data set comprising 210 observations drawn over 2001 - 2007 periods was used. Using the translog stochastic frontier production function, the decomposition components were computed. The results showed that TFP decreased through time, while technical change was negative, implying downward shift of the production frontier. As a major component, technical change was the main constraint to the achievement of high levels of TFP during the study period. The scale effect, which is generally bigger than technical change component shows that the sampled farms had not taken advantage of scale economies. Furthermore, the allocative efficiency had an average magnitude closer to the scale effect and points towards decreases in the efficiency with which production factors are allocated. This is an indication of a decline in technical efficiency. We suggest reforms in the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) geared towards enhancing their capacity in extending novel technologies and innovations to farmers.