Abstract

Haricot bean is one of the most important cash crops and the least expensive sources of protein in rural Ethiopia and in Oromia regional state in particular. Yet its productivity is very low. This study, therefore, aimed to analyze the level of technical efficiency by smallholder farmers in Boset district of Oromia National state of Ethiopia. Three stage sampling technique was employed to randomly select 149 sample farmers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect cross sectional data in 2018/2019 production year. Secondary data were also utilized for this study. Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier with a one-step approach was used to estimate levels of the technical efficiency. Our findings showed that haricot bean output was positively and significantly influenced by land, fertilize, oxen and labor in man-days. The mean technical efficiency of farmers in the production of haricot bean was 81.4%. This showed that there exists a possibility to increase the level of haricot bean output by 18.6% through efficiently utilizing the existing resources. Hence, the government should give necessary not only revolving introduction and dissemination of new technology to increase yield, but also more attention should be given to improve the existing level of efficiency.

Key Words: Haricot-bean, Stochastic-Frontier, Technical Efficiency, Boset District