An Econometric Approach to Resource use Efficiency in Multiple Cropping System by Small-holder Farmers in Ebonyi State of Nigeria 

Abstract

Resource use efficiency in multiple cropping system in Ebonyi State, Nigeria was studied. The study was aimed at providing information on the level of resource utilization in farming operations in Nigeria using Ebonyi State as a case study. A multi-stage sampling technique involving pilot survey, purposive and simple random sampling techniques was used to select 240 small-holder farmers, which served as the sample size for the study. Result showed that the combined influence of the production inputs on farmers' output was about 37%. The regression analysis further showed that the coefficients of the production inputs of land, labour, capital and management were 0.9995, 0.1182, 0.1953 and 0.1289 respectively. Though they were all positively signed, the result showed that the inputs were not efficiently utilized, since their coefficients were less than 1.0. The study showed that land has 99.95% influence on output level while capital management and labour has an influence of 19.53%, 12.89% and 11.82% on output level respectively. Unfortunately, the study noted that these inputs were under utilized in multiple-cropping system. The study suggests among others, that the methods of land acquisition should be reviewed.