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Abstract

This paper provides insight into the relationship between technical efficiency of maize farming and household wealth indicators in Uganda. The study uses national panel data in 2005/06 and 2009/10, and a stochastic frontier production function model is specified for the maize farming households. Up to 2,295 households were found to have grown maize in 2005/06, and 2,343 households in 2009/10 from the data sets. The results show that up to 86% of the maize farming households attained on average low mean efficiency scores below 0.5. While inorganic fertilizer was found to be important in contributing to maize productivity and therefore technical efficiency, the number of households using it between the two time periods was found to reduce albeit not significantly. The number using organic fertilizer though, significantly increased (1%). Household wealth is found to be significantly (1% level) associated with a reduction in technical efficiency. The study recommends interventions targeted at poor rural households to improve maize output markets so as to competitively reward household investment in production, and subsequently generate household wealth. This would make maize production attractive to the producers, motivating them to make necessary investment in inorganic fertilizer and other purchased inputs.

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