ESTIMATING TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF TOMATO PRODUCTION IN NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the factors influencing technical efficiency of tomato farmers at the Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR). Study Design: Cross sectional. Place and Duration: Kasena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region of Ghana in the 2007/2008 cropping season. Methodology: One-step estimation of the Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Frontier Model. Results: Mean technical efficiency was found to be 0.71, ranging from 0.36 and 0.99. The relatively high efficiency levels were as a result of agricultural intensification measures (such as the adoption of modern inputs) that the farmers followed as well as high levels of education and long years of experience in cultivating tomatoes. The most indentified effect of tomato influx into the country was that it drives farmers out of production. As a way out the farmers suggested that there should be a review of the country’s cross border relations with its neighbors. Conclusion: The farmers at ICOUR are technically efficient. Their main problem however borders on the fierce competition they face from their foreign counterparts.