Technology adoption intensity and technical efficiency of maize farmers in the Techiman municipality of Ghana

Abstract

This paper analyses the determinants of the intensity of adoption of improved maize technology, technical efficiency and constraints farmers faced in the Techiman Municipality of Ghana. To achieve the objectives, cross-sectional data were collected from 407 maize farmers. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models such as the Poisson model and the stochastic frontier model. The study found a positive and significant influence of extension contact, formal training, land ownership, hired labour, farm size and mobile phone ownership on the intensity of adoption of improved technology. The stochastic frontier model estimates also found maize farmers to be on, average, 70% technically efficient with increasing returns to scale of 1.26. The intensity of adoption, age, land ownership, livestock ownership and perception of soil fertility by the farmers with household size were found to statistically contribute to the technical efficiency of farmers. The study concludes that intensity of adoption of improved maize technology package elements increases productivity, and, therefore, recommends that subsidy packages and credit should be made available to farmers through government and other financial institutions to increase adoption intensity. This study addresses the gap in the use of improved and multiple maize technology in Ghana