ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF MANGO PRODUCTION IN THE YILO KROBO MUNICIPALITY IN THE EASTERN REGION OF GHANA

ABSTRACT

Mango has been the major cash crop grown by farmers in the Yilo Krobo

Municipality. The productivity of this crop has been persistently low despite

various private and public sector interventions. Studies have suggested that

one key factor of productivity growth is efficiency in resource and technology

use. This study estimated the economic efficiency of mango production to

determine the scope for additional increase in mango production. A multistage

sampling technique was used to randomly select and collect primary data from

sixty two registered mango farmers. Descriptive statistics were used to

describe the state of mango production. Stochastic production frontier analysis

was used to estimate the economic efficiencies and their determinants among

mango farmers. Kendall coefficient of concordance was used to measure the

degree of agreement among farmers concerning the constraints associated with

mango production. The results of the analysis indicated that mango farmers

were economically inefficient, and that the presence of technical and

allocative inefficiencies had effects on mango production. In addition, the

results revealed that farm-specific and farmer-specific characteristics were

significant predictors of the economic inefficiency levels exhibited by mango

farmers. The Kendall W statistic also revealed a strong degree of agreement

among mango farmers concerning the constraints associated with mango

production. Based on these findings, policy makers should focus on promoting

efficient use of existing technology and resources in mango production. For

instance, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture should develop an integrated

and holistic extension strategy to provide training for famers on resource use

efficiency, information, and access to inputs and services.