Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Vol. 5(1), pp. 001-013, January 2016 ISSN 2327-3151 ©2016 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Analysis of property rights and productive efficiencies among smallholder rice farmers in South western Nigeria

Oluwaranti, Ademola S.¹*, Uzu, Micah O.², Olarinde, Luke O.³ and Oladeebo, Job O.³

¹ Faculty of Business and Leisure Botswana Accountancy College (The Botswana Business School) Fairgrounds Financial Centre PMB 00319 Gaborone Botswana.

²Department of Economics, College of Physical Education, Mosogar, P.M.B. 4088 Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria.

³Department of Agricultural Economics, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B. 4000 Ogbomoso 210001 Oyo State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: demmierant@yahoo.com.

Accepted 6 January, 2016

Abstract

This study examined the property rights and productive efficiencies of small scale rice farmers in Oyo State, South western Nigeria. The study employed the Stochastic Frontier Analysis and the Tobit model using the smallholders’ various agricultural inputs and capital stock as exogenous to rice productivity. The results reveal that farm size has the greatest impact on productivity for both native and non-native rice farmers with majority of them having no formal education. The results further show that native farmers have property rights while non-native farmers do not. The study concludes that rice production be managed by young and better-educated farmers who will be able to adopt the new and improved technologies in rice production. There should be provision of institutional credit to farmers on timely basis and with easy access to such credit facilities. This measure could in a way allow rice farmers access input like fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides and even modern implements so as to encourage expansion of their initial land area allocated to rice production. Government policy formulation on land tenure that will be advantageous to both the native and non-native farmers is critical.

Key words: Property rights, technical efficiency, smallholder rice framers, South western Nigeria.