Comparative Analysis of the Productivity and Efficiency of Cluster and Individual Farming in West Arsi Zone of Oromia

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to compare the productivity and efficiency of clustered and individual farming; to identify factors affecting clusters farming practice and to know the view/perception of farmers for clustered farming approach in West Arsi zone. To conduct the study, primary data was collected from 152 randomly selected household heads through semi-structured questionnaire. Secondary data were also collected from different sources including CSA, ZOANR, DOANR, and from published and unpublished sources to supplement primary data. In this study both descriptive statistics and econometric analysis were employed. The primary data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic efficiency decomposition method to decompose TE. Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) was used for its ability to distinguish inefficiency from deviations that are caused by factors beyond the control of farmers. The productivity of wheat per hectare was 47.17 and 39.042 quintal for cluster and individual farming respectively which is statically significant at 1% level. The study result revealed that the mean of wheat TE was about 78.46%, for cluster farming and 69.25%, for individual farming as the Cobb-Douglas functional form indicate that. As the result of research analysis indicates that, the cumulative sum of farmers’ perception towards the compatibility of cluster farming with the socio-economic situational circumstances was 4.093 suggesting farmers perceive positively that it was compatibility with their socio-economic situational circumstances. The likelihood of farmers to practice cluster farming positively influenced by Sex of HH, age of HH, nearest market center, distance to FTC, participation on field visit and participation in social organization in West Arsi zone. The study suggested that farmer adoption decisions are affected by above mentioned factors and policies addressing each decision process and cross-cutting issues are required to improve farmer participation in cluster farming. In addition, the study suggested the need for policies to discourage land fragmentation and promote, participation in field visit, and strengthening social network of farmers, to increase participation of farmers in cluster farming in the zone.