Comparative Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Beneficiary and Non-Beneficiary Rice Farmers of the Anchor Borrowers' Programme in Benue State, Nigeria

Comparative analysis of the technical efficiency of beneficiary and non-beneficiary rice farmers of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in Benue State, Nigeria was investigated. Data for the study were collected with the aid of well-structured questionnaire from 768 rice farmers consisting of 388 beneficiaries and 380 non-beneficiaries from 18 communities and 18 Local Government Areas using multi-stage sampling technique. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and stochastic frontier production function. The findings revealed that the beneficiary rice farmers achieved lower levels of technical efficiency compared to the non-beneficiary rice farmers and that seed (0.483) and agrochemical (1.60) used, increased technical efficiency more among beneficiary rice farmers than the non-beneficiary rice farmers while fertilizer (-1.285) used, decreased technical efficiency of beneficiary rice farmers more compared to the non-beneficiary rice farmers. The results also showed that rice production among the beneficiaries was in stage I of the production curve and that gender (1.249), educational level (-0.045), age (0.058), membership of cooperative (-0.250), extension visit (0.126), marital status (-2.633), and household size (0.059) significantly influenced their technical inefficiency. The study recommended policies and programmes targeted at reallocation and redistribution of farm production inputs and taking cognizance the incorporation of farmers’ socio-economic characteristics in their formulation.