Analysis of the Determinants of the Technical Efficiency of Horticultural Production in the Face of the Degradation of Water Reservoirs in Urban Centers in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Horticulture activity represents one of the most important sources of income for the populations living near the water reservoirs in the city of Ouagadougou. However, its production is threatened by the increasingly and pronounced deterioration of reservoirs. In this article, we aim to measure the technical efficiency of horticulturalists in such a context. To achieve this goal, the stochastic production frontier method was carried out on a representative sample of 128 horticultural operators. The outcomes of the research reveal that overall horticulturalists are not technically efficient. In fact, the average level of technical efficiency is 0.68. The technical inefficiency evaluated to 0.32 is mainly due to the social status of the operator, the location of the plot with respect to the flow of water, and the poor state of water and soil.