Sources of Inefficiency in Small-Scale Irrigation in Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

Abstract

\n Increased production, food security, poverty reduction, and rural economic development can be supported by increasing efficiency in the use of scarce resources and technologies. Promoting small-scale irrigation practices may provide opportunities to improve the efficient utilization of land and labor. This paper assesses the extent of technical efficiencies of two household irrigation technologies: rope & washer and pulley practiced by farmers in two pilot areas of rural communities in Ethiopia. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used to estimate efficiency levels and identify the factors affecting inefficiencies. Labor and land are found to have contributed a greater share in the quantity of production of the crops under study. Plough repetition and experience in irrigation also contributed significantly to increased output. The results obtained from the stochastic frontier analysis indicate that farmers are operating at a significantly lower mean efficiency level of 70%, indicating the existence of room for increased production without additional investment. Distance to the nearest market, female household head, higher dependency ratio and using rope & washer (compared to pulley) increases the likelihood of being inefficient, whereas higher educational attainment of the head of the household and irrigation experience reduces the probability of inefficiency.