Technical efficiency of small-scale pineapple production in Benin

Pineapple is one of the 13 agricultural crops selected to receive increased interventions from the Government and donors in the coming years in Benin. Increased pineapple production can contribute to raise incomes in rural areas. This study aims at estimating pineapple producers' technical efficiency in Benin. The stochastic production frontier approach is applied to a sample consisting of 135 small-scale producers, affiliated to the pineapple growers' association in Benin, RePAB. The results show that the average producer is technically inefficient. The average level of efficiency is 67%, indicating that current production levels can be significantly increased without changing the levels of available resources. Technical efficiency is high among producers who are able to apply the recommended technology, but this is a small category in the study sample. The results reveal that access to technical information is useful but needs to be complemented by policy measures facilitating the application of the recommended technology, namely access to good quality inputs.