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Productivity and efficiency analysis of maize under conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/7254/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2013.10.004
10.1016/j.agsy.2013.10.004
 
Title Productivity and efficiency analysis of maize under conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe
 
Creator Ndlovu, P V
Mazvimavi, K
An, H
Murendo, C
 
Subject Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description This study assesses the productivity and efficiency of maize production under conservation agriculture (CA). The analysis is based on a three year (2008–2010) panel sample of small holder farming households across 15 rural districts in Zimbabwe. We make a comparison of CA with alternative conventional farming methods. Our empirical strategy consists of two methods. First, using a fixed effects model, we estimate maize production functions and derive technical change estimates under CA and conventional farming. Second, we estimate a joint stochastic production frontier to compare productivity and technical efficiency between CA and conventional farming. Under CA, technical progress has been land-saving but seed and fertilizer-using, while it has been land-using but seed-saving in conventional farming. Lastly, the results of the efficiency analysis show that that farmers produce 39% more in CA compared with conventional farming, but technical efficiency levels are essentially equal in both technologies. Overall, the results show significant yield gains in CA practices and significant contributions to food production. CA is land-saving, and this is an important issue for land constrained farmers because they can still have viable food production on smaller area. However, high labor and fertilizer demands in CA present some problems in adoption amongst resource-constrained farmers.
 
Publisher Elsevier Science Ltd
 
Date 2014
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
application/pdf
 
Language en
en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/7254/1/AgriSystem_productivity_2013.pdf
http://oar.icrisat.org/7254/7/Agri-syst_124_2014_21-31.pdf
Ndlovu, P V and Mazvimavi, K and An, H and Murendo, C (2014) Productivity and efficiency analysis of maize under conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe. Agricultural Systems, 124. pp. 21-31. ISSN 0308-521X