PRODUCTIVITY AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF MAIZE PRODUCTION IN SOME SELECTED AREAS OF MUNSHIGANJ DISTRICT IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

The significance of maize production has been steadily increasing in recent years, primarily due to its wide range of diversified applications. The objective of the present study was to identify the socio-economic characteristics of maize farmers, to measure the productivity and technical efficiency of maize production, and address the challenges faced by maize producing farmers in the study area as well as suggest some policy options to address the problems. To achieve these objectives, a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function were employed. Primary data was collected from 80 randomly selected farmers of the Sirajdikhan and Sreenagar Upazilas in the Munshiganj district. The results indicated that the coefficients of parameters such as seed cost, hired labor cost, machinery used cost, and chemical fertilizer cost were positive, with seed and machinery used costs being highly significant, and the cost of chemical fertilizer cost significant at the 5 percent level. On the other hand, the coefficients of family labor cost, irrigation cost, and insecticide cost were negative, with the costs of irrigation and insecticide found to be insignificant. The technical inefficiency effect model revealed that factors such as age, education, family size, training, livestock rearing, and membership in social organizations were negative, indicating that they help in reducing the technical inefficiency of maize farmers. In terms of the challenges faced by farmers, the high price of quality seeds, natural disasters, and the high cost of labor were identified as the top three concerns. To address these challenges and enhance maize production, it is recommended to reduce seed costs, enhance farm mechanization and provide adequate extension services.