Technical and Economical Efficiency of Crops Production in the Gezira Scheme in Season 2011/12, (Sudan)

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate the technical efficiency of crop production in Gezira scheme and specifically to determine the main factors that caused technical inefficiency, to assess the maximum farm’s returns level under optimum cropping patterns and to identify the socio-economic factors that affected the level of efficiency of farmers. Production and yield have deteriorated and the returns of farmers have consequently declined in recent years. Both primary and secondary data were used for study purposes. Primary data were collected from a survey conducted in season 2011/12, through a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique using a sample of 150 tenants. The secondary data collected from the relevant institution sources. Descriptive statistics, technical efficiency, linear programming models and gross margins were employed to analyze the collected data. And achieve the study objectives. The descriptive statistics of selected socio-economic characteristics showed that the average age of the sampled farmers was 50 years. Most of the farmers 88.7% were within the active age of 25-65. Most of the farmers 98% have attained some sort of education. All surveyed farms were managed by males; about 90 % of the surveyed farmers were married. For the sampled farmers, the average family size was found to be 8 persons per household. The majority of the sampled farmers (71.3%) have stayed for more than 10 years in the agricultural work. The sampled farmers (82.7%) were fully occupied with tenancy (i.e. had no off-farm activities). The frontier production function analysis revealed that most of the estimated β co- efficients of the stochastic frontier model for all crops production models have the expected signs and significance. The mean technical efficiency was 63%, 75%, 65%, and 90% for cotton, sorghum, groundnuts, and wheat productions, respectively. This shows that there is scope for increasing cotton, sorghum, groundnuts, and wheat production lie by 37%, 25%, 35%, and 10%, respectively with present technology. Tenancy location, age, education years, sowing date, farm income, off farm income, irrigation number, weeding number and total labour, for production crops were significant variable for improving technical efficiency. Education level, experience, family size, marital status and credit were significant in explaining technical inefficiency in Gezira scheme. The results of LP models revealed that the real cropping was different from the basic cropping pattern, the net farm income in the optimal models was over the current situation by 59.3%, most of the land was allocated to onion crop which was 8.68 feddans, followed by cotton crop which was 6.88 feddans, while sorghum and groundnuts entered in the optimal plan with small areas 1.74, and 0.92 feddans, respectively, wheat and chickpea did not enter in the optimal plan. In the real situation cotton, sorghum, and onion occupied about the same area 4 feddan, followed by wheat and chickpea, 3 feddan, and then groundnuts 2 feddan. Many scenarios were tried by developing the parameters of the free LP model to reflect a range of production options. The budget analysis of crops, onion crop had the high cost followed by cotton. Onion crop yielded the higher gross margin per feddan followed by cotton. The study recommended for improvement of the technical efficiency of crop production in the scheme, that the Gezira Scheme Management should improve the extension services and supervision, more coordination between Gezira Scheme Management, Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to solve problems of irrigation by cleaning and maintaining water canals, and adoption of the recommended improved technologies will increase farmers’ income.