Technical efficiency of traditional African vegetable production: A case study of smallholders in Tanzania

Traditional African vegetables are receiving more attention for their significant contribution to food and nutrition security and enhanced livelihoods of smallholders. Although demand is increasing for these nutrients-dense crops, the production of traditional vegetables in Tanzania remains low. Technical innovations can reduce yield gaps and increase the productivity of traditional vegetable crops. This paper measures the technical efficiency of farm households that produce traditional vegetables in Tanzania using a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function. This study reports data from a primary survey of 181 households that cultivated traditional vegetables in five regions (Arusha, Tanga, Morogoro, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam) of Tanzania. The results show that overall mean technical efficiency is 67%. It indicates that if the average farmer of the sample could achieve the technical efficiency level of most efficient counterpart, then average farmers of the sample could increase their output by 27% with better use of available production resources given the current state of technology. Farmers were observed to be more technically efficient in the Arusha region than in the other study regions. Possible reasons for the observed regional difference include agroclimatic variability, access to extension services, and infrastructure facilities. A linear relationship exists between farm size and technical efficiency. The study concludes that strengthening farmer associations to encourage knowledge sharing and enhancing the existing cluster approach to farming may help to improve technical efficiency.   Key words: Smallholders, inefficiency, resource use, inputs, technology.