Technical efficiency and production potential of selected cereal crops in Senegal

Abstract

This study focused on the production outcomes for five crops cultivated in Senegal: upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet. Technical efficiency (TE) of the production of each crop was estimated using data envelopment analysis, and the determinants of TEs were assessed using generalised linear regression analyses. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with 66 farmers in the Kaolack region of Central Senegal during November 2011–February 2012. Average TEs for upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet were estimated as 0.76, 0.88, 0.89, 0.94, and 0.90, respectively. The identified factors that had a positive impact on TE were years of cultivation experience, amount of nitrogen fertiliser applied, and participation in a farmers’ association. Weeding hours, seeding rate, size of the cultivated area, and delays in sowing time were negatively associated with TE. The factors that significantly affected TE differed among the crops. Optimising these factors could enable potential yield increase of upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet by 24, 12, 11, 6, and 10 %, respectively.