Resource use Efficiency of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Farmers in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria: Evidence from Cobb-Douglas Production Function

Abstract

The study examined the efficiency of resources used by ginger farmers in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 160 registered ginger farmers. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis with the Cobb-Douglas functional form as the lead equation, and efficiency measures model. The study revealed that the average age of ginger farmers was 41 years. The result also showed that 72.50% of the ginger farmers were married with an average household size of 13 persons. The averages farming experience and farm size were 18 years and 1.75 hectares respectively. The coefficient of multiple determination (R²) was 0.944 implying that, 94.4% of the variation in the output of ginger in the study area was accounted for by the factors included in the model, while the remaining proportion was by other external factors (error term). The coefficients of farm size, hercides and fertilizers were all significant at 5% level (p<0.05). In terms of resource use efficiency, the input factors of farm size, seeds and fertilizer were all under-utilized while labour factor was over-utilized. This implied that labour was overstretched and must be reduced while more units of the other factors of farm size, seeds and fertilizers needed to be used to obtain optimum output.  Government and non-state actors concerned should provide credits and subsidized farm inputs to ginger farmers. Ginger farmers should be encouraged to form cooperatives for easy to access to credit facilities, farm inputs and extension information.