This paper assesses the performance of households engaged in livestock production in the north-Eastern Cape communal areas of South Africa. Using a survey data from 120 households from Mgwalana and Mahlungulu village collected in 2015 and 2016, a stochastic frontier model is used to estimate technical efficiency scores and evaluate its determinants among households in a communal production environment where rangelands are the cheapest source of fodder for livestock. The findings of the study revealed that householdsHousehold is referred to people living as a family under one dwelling/house and are regarded as a unit Acknowledgement : Funding for this research was provided by the Water Research Commision and Agricultural Research Council.