EFFECTS OF POLICY FACTORS ON TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF IRRIGATED RICE PRODUCTION UNDER DIFFERENT LAND ADMINISTRATION INSTITUTIONS DADIN KOWA IRRIGATION SCHEME, NIGERIA

The study was conducted to determine the effects of policy factors of land administration on the technical efficiency of irrigated rice production in the Dadin Kowa Irrigation Scheme (DKIS) area. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Three hundred and twenty irrigated rice farmers were selected using multi-stage sampling technique drawn from five land administration institutions in the DKIS area. Descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier, and multiple regression models were used to analyze the data. The technical efficiency (TE) analysis revealed that for the sample, farm size (P<0.01), fertilizers (P<0.05), herbicides (P<0.05), and pesticides (P<0.01) were all significant and negative while labour was positive (P<0.01). The inefficiency model for TE revealed that for the sample, four variables education, household size, access to improved seeds, and distance to market were each statistically significant at 5% probability level and negative (except for education which was positive). The effects of five policy factors of land administration (land governance, partnership in land use, socio-economic factors, gender and inclusiveness, institutional and environmental factors) on TE revealed that for the aggregate sample, only land governance (P<0.01) and socio-economic factors (P<0.05) were significant. The study recommended that the five policy factors of land administration should be accorded priority in strategic policy planning and implementation of programme for improving the productivity of irrigated agriculture and the livelihoods of people in the study area.