ISSN 2360-798X
Abstract
This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the interaction between education and adoption of new agricultural techniques, as well as the age threshold effect of the onion farmers in the North and Far North regions of Cameroon. Since the empirical evidence concerning age effects on technical efficiency is still weak, this study further contributes to the literature attempting to bridge this gap. Data collection was carried out in three phases over the course of an agricultural year for the period August 2023-May 2024. The simultaneous estimation of a stochastic frontier and technical inefficiency function is carried out on a sample of 309 onion farmers. The study unveiled an inverted U-shaped relationship between age and technical efficiency. The interaction between education and adoption of agronomic techniques has a significant and negative effect on the level of efficiency. The least efficient producer and the most efficient producer in the sample must respectively increase their production by 62% and 5.28% using the same level of inputs to be fully efficient. The support and development programme for the agricultural sector should therefore focus on the appropriation of novel agronomic techniques by farmers with secondary education and above.
Keywords: age; education; technical efficiency; stochastic frontier