Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 22 ISSUE 4
Written by Abraham FALOLA, Ridwan MUKAILA, Mujtaba Muhammadu MAHMUD

The paucity of information on the efficiency of organic food crops deters relevant interventions to enhance their production in order to address the health risks associated with inorganic food items. This study, therefore, investigated the technical efficiency, identified the factors influencing the productivity of organic maize farming, and measured the factor efficiency or resource productivityof organic maize farming in Nigeria. This study used data obtained from 480 organic maize farmers and analysed it using descriptive statistics, a stochastic frontier production function, and return to scale. The results revealed that organic maize farms had an average technical efficiency of 0.76, showing there is room for improvement. Organic manure, labour, seeds, education, extension contacts, and farm size significantly contributed to the technical efficiency of organic maize farming production. To improve and maintain the continuity of organic maize farming practices, farmers need to form and belong to farm-based organisations, where government and non-government organisations can support them, to facilitate the promotion of organic-based farming knowledge and obtain financial assistance.

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