ABSTRACT
This study focused at the impact of farm efficiency on sorghum production in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Three villages were randomly selected from three Local Government Areas and 143 sorghum farmers were randomly selected in this area. Primary data were collected from 143 respondents using structured questionnaire. The statistical tools used to analyze the data were descriptive statistics, net farm income, stochastic frontier production function and t-test statistics. The result of the analysis showed that (57%) of the respondents were within the age range of 40-49years, the majority (78%) of the respondent had household size from 1-10 people. The majority of the farmers (69%) had no formal education. Majority of the farmers (73%) had farming experience range from 1-10 years. 93% of the farmers finance their production through personal savings; majority of the farmers (92%) had land size ranging from 1-5 hectares. 75% of the farmers belong to at least one cooperative association while majority 90% of the sorghum farmers had no extension contact. The average costs incurred and revenue obtained per hectare for sorghum were estimated to determine the profitability or otherwise of sorghum production in the study area. The total revenue (TR) was Γ’β¦133,653.6 while the total cost (TVC + TFC) was Γ’β¦70,937. The net farm income was therefore Γ’β¦62,716.6. The average rate of return on investment (return per naira invested) is Γ’β¦1.89, indicating that for every Γ’β¦1 invested in sorghum production in study area; a profit of 89 kobo was made. Thus, it could be concluded that sorghum production in the study area is profitable. The stochastic frontier production function was estimated for technical efficiency was 0.81. This implies that on the average, output decreased by 19% from the maximum possible level due to inefficiency. The estimated coefficients of all the parameters of production function (seed, fertilizer, labour and agrochemical) were positive and significant at p<0.01 and p<0.10 and hence play a major role in sorghum production. The constraints identified in were pest and diseases and inadequate capital. It is recommended that agro based industries and non-governmental organization should be encouraged by the local government to support research and production of sorghum productsfor commercial purposes.
