Adoption of a New Maize and Production Efficiency in Western Kenya

• Main Authors: Mignouna, D.B, Mutabazi, K.D.S, Senkondo, E.M, Manyong, Victor M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2010
• Subjects: Crop Production/Industries; efficiency; IRM technology; stochastic production frontier; Tobit model

Declining yields of maize as a result of Striga infestation has necessitated a new technologyknown as Imazapyr-resistant maize (IRM) to contain the problem. As a result, research anddevelopment initiatives with substantial participation of the private sector to transfer this newtechnology to farmers have been made in western Kenya. This study therefore assesses theadoption of IRM variety and efficiency levels of farmers in western Kenya. A multi-stagesampling technique was used to select a total of 600 households from Nyanza and Westernprovinces for this study. Tobit model and stochastic production frontier analysis were theanalytical methods. Results show that age, education, maize production gap, risk, contact withextension agents, lack of seeds, membership in social group, effective pathway for IRMdissemination and compatibility of the technology are the variables that were found to besignificant (P<0.05) in shaping the decisions of households on whether to adopt or not. Thestudy reveals that the mean technical efficiency of maize production of sampled farmers is70% indicating some inefficiencies of maize production in western Kenya. Also, adoption ofIRM significantly increased frontier maize output (P<0.01); household size decreasedinefficiency along with farm size. It was recommended that efforts to increase adoption ofIRM for enhanced farm efficiency should focus on farmers’ education, farming experienceand access to information and farm basic inputs.