Technical Efficiency in Swine Production Under Different Waste Management Techniques

Abstract

In spite of the enormous benefits derivable from pig production, farmers are yet to fully maximize output due largely to inefficiency in the use of resources. An empirical study was carried out to examine the technical efficiency of resource use in swine production under different waste management strategies. Multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 60 farmers and primary data were obtained with the aid of questionnaire. Using the stochastic production frontier function based on the Cobb- Douglas form, asymptotic parameter estimates were evaluated to describe efficiency determinants. Result revealed that the most vital factors influencing technical efficiency across the pig farms were labour, medication and stocking density whereas the most critical explainers of inefficiency across all the pig farms were farming experience, access to credit and extension contact. The average efficiency for pig farmers that bury, dump and compost waste were 0.87, 0.88 and 0.74 respectively while the mean efficiency across all the pig farms was 0.80. The fact that all the pigs farms had mean efficiencies of less than one is indicative that none of the pig farms reached the frontier threshold in production. Thus, within the context of efficient agricultural production, pig farmers could still increase their output using appropriate technologies and the right resource-mix.