Assessment of the economic efficiency of dry-season onion production in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Dry season onion farming is central to food supply and rural income in Adamawa State, Nigeria, yet production is limited by inefficiencies. This study assessed the technical, allocative, and economic efficiency of farmers using a stochastic frontier production and cost model. A total of 240 producers were selected through multistage sampling, and structured questionnaires provided the data. Analysis employed Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Results showed that farm size (0.451, p<0.01), seed (0.226, p<0.01), labor (0.1176, p<0.01), and fertilizer (0.102, p<0.05) were the most significant drivers of output. Mean efficiency scores were 0.83 for technical, 0.81 for allocative, and 0.67 for economic performance. Gamma values of 0.88 and 0.91 indicated that inefficiencies explained most variations in output and cost. Farmers achieved strong technical performance but faced persistent allocative and economic constraints. Targeted investment in irrigation, stronger extension services, improved access to credit, and cooperative strengthening are recommended to improve cost-effective resource use and productivity.