Estimating technology adoption and technical efficiency in smallholder maize production: A double bootstrap DEA approach

The study examined how farmers' technological choice affects technical efficiency (TE) in small-scale maize production in northern Ghana. A random sample of 340 respondents took part in the study. A binary probit modeling was applied to analyse adoption decision, while double bootstrap data envelopment analysis was relied upon to evaluate TE Truncated regression was used to assess the sources of inefficiency. The results indicated a bias-corrected TE of 57% under variable returns to scale assumption and 52% when constant returns to scale was assumed. Accounting for potential endogeneity of the adoption variable, the findings indicated that technical efficiency increased with technology adoption. Technical efficiency improved with herd size but decreased with educational attainment, number of household members, access to extension, frequency of weeding, and size of cultivated land. The study, therefore, recommends that making improved seeds available and affordable to small-scale producers and training farmers on effective weed management could be potential measures to enhance the farm-level technical efficiency.