Technical efficiency of maize production and their determinants among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia: a case study in Sidama Region

Inefficiency in production is among the pressing challenges to maize agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study evaluated the technical efficiency and determinant factors of maize production among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. For this purpose, 353 farm households were randomly selected from three purposively selected sites during the 2021/22 production season. The value of gamma (0. 0.891574) shows that about 89.2% of the farmer’s inefficiency in maize production was explained by the variable included in the model. The predicted average technical efficiency score was 72.7%. The combination of the existing inputs, including technology, increased the production of maize on average by 27.3%. The variables like, age, education level, land ownership, livestock holding, extension service, and integrated soil fertility management had significant effects on the technical efficiency. Therefore, there is a need to encourage farmers to share their experience, facilitate adult education, improve livestock holding size, increase extension service, and encourage farm household participation in integrated soil fertility management to improve the technical efficiency level of maize production.