Technical Efficiency of Onion Seed Production of West Rukum District of Nepal a Stochastic Frontier Production Approach

Abstract

In Nepal, the consumption of onion is increasing (15.4kg/head/year). There is a vast gap between demand and supply in the onion seed sub-sector. More than 80% of onion seed is being imported from foreign countries. In Nepal, West Rukum district has been known as one of the most potential districts for onion seed production based on area, production, and favorable agro-climatic condition. However, production and productivity are very low and farmers are facing weak market linkage and unstable market. This research tried to explore the technical efficiency of onion seed producers from West Rukum district of Nepal. The primary data was collected with 120 seed producer through pre-tested questioner, KII and, and group meeting. The stochastic frontier production of Cobb-Douglas production function with single-stage estimation procedure was employed to analyze the technical efficiency of seed producers. The mean technical efficiency of seed producers was 89.7% with a 1.29 return to scale of farm. The difference between actual yield and potential yield was decreased as increased the level of efficiency of seed producers. The age and training received by producers was significant to affect the technical efficiency of the producers. Likewise, the distance of cultivation plot and economic active family member’s number were significantly negative to influence the level of seed producers. The seed producers were 10.3% below their potential capacity.