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Abstract

We estimate and compare technical efficiency (TE), technology gap ratio (TGR), and meta-technical efficiency (MTE) of sorghum production between three groups of plots which have been classified on the basis of the type of land property rights held by farmers (formal land rights, customary land rights, and no land rights). Nationally representative household data collected in 2011 in rural Burkina Faso are analyzed. The stochastic meta-frontier approach is followed to address the heterogeneity of the technologies used by sorghum farmers. The TE and MTE are estimated at 69% and 51.96%, respectively. It is found that the group of plots held with formal land rights has the higher MTE and TGR, implying that farmers use the best technology on these plots where they are more efficient. This evidence may highlight the positive effect of land property rights security in the adoption of better farm management practices stimulating production efficiency. The results imply that sorghum farmers have the possibility of increasing their level of production by 31% with the same resources. We argue that securing land property rights by a well undertaken formalization process is one of the factors helping to stimulate this possibility.

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