Factors That Influence Technical Efficiency of Sorghum Production: A Case of Small Holder Sorghum Producers in Lower Eastern Kenya

Chepng’etich, Evaline; Nyamwaro, Sospeter S.; Bett, Eric K.; Kizito, Kwena

doi:10.1155/2015/861919

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Increased levels of education resulted in a significant increase (p<0.05) in smallholder tomato production. Results were consistent with those of Itam et al 49 and Chepng'etich et al 30 who found that smallholder farmers' with a higher level of education were more technically efficient than uneducated farmers. Formal education increased farmers' ability to investigate and adopt new technology, which tended to move farmers closer to the frontier.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Technical Efficiency In Tomato Productionsupporting

confidence: 91%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Metafrontier analysis of commercial and smallholder tomato production: A South African case

Gwebu

Matthews

2018

S. Afr. J. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

South African agriculture is a dualist agricultural system with well-developed commercial farmers and resource-poor smallholder farmers. In an effort to address the dualist nature of agriculture, the South African government has developed a strategic plan to assist smallholder farmers in entering commercial markets. The strategic plan aims to advance subsistence and smallholder farmers into commercial production through improved resource management for sustainable food security and smallholder livelihood. However, the productivity of smallholder farmers continues to be very low compared with that of commercial farmers. Our aim was to compare tomato productivity for commercial and smallholder tomato farmers in the Nkomazi area (Mpumalanga Province) using a metafrontier analysis. We used an output-oriented data envelopment analysis metafrontier approach and the Tobit model to investigate smallholder and commercial farmers’ technical efficiencies and related factors which affect tomato production. Results indicate that smallholder farmers have high levels of technical efficiency compared to the group frontier (0.74), but they are less technically efficient compared to the metafrontier (0.51). The group efficiencies of the smallholder farmers also showed a large variation ranging from 3% to 100%, while commercial farmers have high levels of efficiency compared to both the group frontier (0.89) and the metafrontier (0.88). Results from the Tobit regression indicate that farmers’ managerial decisions are an important determinant of their technical efficiency. We conclude that smallholder farmers first need to increase their level of technical efficiency relative to their peers before aiming to compete with commercial farmers. Significance: • Smallholder farmers should first improve their resource use efficiency compared to their fellow smallholder farmers before they consider comparing themselves against the commercial farmers.

show abstract

Section: Factors Influencing Technical Efficiency In Tomato Productionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Specifying the production frontier Others [28][29][30] have used both parametric and non-parametric methods to estimate technical efficiency. Both the parametric and non-parametric approaches share a common objective in that a benchmark needs to be identified to test the performance of the rest against that of the best.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metafrontier analysis of commercial and smallholder tomato production: A South African case

Gwebu

Matthews

2018

S. Afr. J. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Accumulation of D-lactate produced by the reactions of the glyoxalase pathway enzymes, can otherwise confer toxicity in the form of lactic acidosis, not being able to be utilized in any other metabolic pathway [39]. Therefore, with an aim to investigate the relevance of MG detoxification in sorghum, one of the top five most versatile and economically important cereal crops [26], we have undertaken a genome-wide distribution and expression profiling analysis of genes involved in the MG detoxification pathway.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is truly a versatile crop that can be grown as a grain, forage or sweet crop. It is among the most efficient crops with regard to its ability to convert solar energy and also in use of water and thus, is known as a high-energy, drought-tolerant crop [26]. Owing to sorghum's wide uses and adaptation, it is considered "one of the really indispensable crops" required for the survival of humankind (see Jack Harlan, 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From methylglyoxal to pyruvate: a genome-wide study for the identification of glyoxalases and D-lactate dehydrogenases in Sorghum bicolor

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The glyoxalase pathway is evolutionarily conserved and involved in the glutathione-dependent detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG), a cytotoxic by-product of glycolysis. It acts via two metallo-enzymes, glyoxalase I (GLYI) and glyoxalase II (GLYII), to convert MG into D-lactate, which is further metabolized to pyruvate by D-lactate dehydrogenases (D-LDH). Since D-lactate formation occurs solely by the action of glyoxalase enzymes, its metabolism may be considered as the ultimate step of MG detoxification. By maintaining steady state levels of MG and other reactive dicarbonyl compounds, the glyoxalase pathway serves as an important line of defence against glycation and oxidative stress in living organisms. Therefore, considering the general role of glyoxalases in stress adaptation and the ability of Sorghum bicolor to withstand prolonged drought, the sorghum glyoxalase pathway warrants an in-depth investigation with regard to the presence, regulation and distribution of glyoxalase and D-LDH genes. Result: Through this study, we have identified 15 GLYI and 6 GLYII genes in sorghum. In addition, 4 D-LDH genes were also identified, forming the first ever report on genome-wide identification of any plant D-LDH family. Our in silico analysis indicates homology of putatively active SbGLYI, SbGLYII and SbDLDH proteins to several functionally characterised glyoxalases and D-LDHs from Arabidopsis and rice. Further, these three gene families exhibit development and tissue-specific variations in their expression patterns. Importantly, we could predict the distribution of putatively active SbGLYI, SbGLYII and SbDLDH proteins in at least four different sub-cellular compartments namely, cytoplasm, chloroplast, nucleus and mitochondria. Most of the members of the sorghum glyoxalase and D-LDH gene families are indeed found to be highly stress responsive.Conclusion: This study emphasizes the role of glyoxalases as well as that of D-LDH in the complete detoxification of MG in sorghum. In particular, we propose that D-LDH which metabolizes the specific end product of glyoxalases pathway is essential for complete MG detoxification. By proposing a cellular model for detoxification of MG via glyoxalase pathway in sorghum, we suggest that different sub-cellular organelles are actively involved in MG metabolism in plants.

show abstract

“…This finding is consistent with Dlamini and Masuku [34], who also found that labour is statistically significant and positively correlated with sugarcane production. Similarly, Chepng'etich et al [38] found that hired labour has a positive and statistically significant correlation with sorghum technical efficiency. In contrary, Wongnaa [14] found the labour variable to be negatively correlated with agricultural (cashew) production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Factors Affecting Sugarcane Production by Small-Scale Growers in Ndwedwe Local Unicipality, South Africa

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sugarcane is an important crop worldwide due to its many nutritional and economic uses. Small-scale sugarcane growers (SSGs) are a significant sector of sugarcane production in South Africa. However, the number of SSGs is noted to have declined from as early as the 2000s to the present time. As a result of the declining sugarcane production, there are now generally fewer SSGs. However, it is not clear cut as to what caused the decrease in sugarcane production by SSGs. The primary objective of this paper is to determine the factors affecting the sugarcane production by SSGs in Mona and Sonkombo in Ndwedwe Local Municipality. Data collection was through a well-structured questionnaire administered to 100 SSGs (that is, 50 respondents each from the study sites, namely Mona and Sonkombo) that were randomly selected. The paper employs descriptive statistics to describe farm characteristics, and a production function (Cobb–Douglass production function (CDPF)) analysis using the ordinary least squares (OLS) criterion to estimate the parameters affecting sugarcane production. Results show that late harvesting (by up to three (3) weeks), late fertiliser application (by up to six (6) months, and chemicals (Gramoxone) application (by up to five (5) months) were primary challenges facing SSGs, likely to result in declining sugarcane yield. The CDPF regression analysis reveals that significant predictors of the production function are: labour and the amount of chemicals (Gramoxone) applied. Labour (man-days/ha), amount of chemicals (Gramoxone) applied are found to be statistically significant and positively correlated with sugarcane production. The government, through the relevant Department of Agriculture, including the private sector, should intensify out-grower technical services for SSGs to realise higher production per hectare. Such services would ensure optimal allocation and application of inputs, labour and chemicals (herbicides and pesticides), respectively, at the right time to ensure efficacy. There is also a need to introduce buying consortiums for SSGs to reduce the costs of inputs.

show abstract

Factors That Influence Technical Efficiency of Sorghum Production: A Case of Small Holder Sorghum Producers in Lower Eastern Kenya

Cited by 23 publications

References 8 publications

Metafrontier analysis of commercial and smallholder tomato production: A South African case

Metafrontier analysis of commercial and smallholder tomato production: A South African case

From methylglyoxal to pyruvate: a genome-wide study for the identification of glyoxalases and D-lactate dehydrogenases in Sorghum bicolor

Factors Affecting Sugarcane Production by Small-Scale Growers in Ndwedwe Local Unicipality, South Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About