Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Oct 13;17(10):e0275177. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275177. eCollection 2022.
Onions are a significant source of revenue and food security for households. Despite their importance in human nutrition, economic benefit, and area coverage, in Ethiopia, onion productivity is significantly lower than it should be. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by examining efficiency variations and determining the variables that affect onion farmers' levels of efficiency in the North Gondar Zone of Ethiopia. The sources of data were both primary and secondary. 205 onion farmers from the Gondar Zuria, Takusa, and Dembia districts were chosen using simple random sampling proportional to sample size. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather primary data from these participants. A Cobb-Douglass production function, a single-stage stochastic frontier model, and descriptive statistics were used to investigate the technical efficiency of onion production at the farm level. The mean technical efficiency of an irrigated onion was 53%, according to the maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic frontier analysis. By enhancing agricultural methods using current technology, it is possible to raise the average production efficiency of irrigated onions. The stochastic frontier model's maximum likelihood estimates revealed that plot size, Di Ammonium Phosphate, and oxen have a significant effect on onion output; education, livestock holding, experience, and frequency of watering have a positive and significant effect on technical efficiency, whereas family size and marketing training have a negative and significant effect on technical efficiency. Therefore, the government or any relevant bodies should deliver continual scheduled training and an integrated adult education at the existing farmers' training center; modern livestock production techniques; further groundwater resources and proper watering technologies should be used since currently farmers use an inefficient irrigation system, specifically furrow irrigation.
洋葱是家庭收入和粮食安全的重要来源。尽管洋葱在人类营养、经济利益和种植面积方面都很重要，但在埃塞俄比亚，洋葱的产量却远低于应有的水平。本研究旨在通过考察效率差异，并确定影响洋葱种植户效率的变量，来解决这一差距。本研究的数据来源包括主要数据和次要数据。采用简单随机抽样按样本大小比例，从贡德尔祖里亚、塔库萨和登比亚区选择了 205 名洋葱种植户。通过半结构式访谈从这些参与者那里收集了主要数据。使用 Cobb-Douglass 生产函数、单阶段随机前沿模型和描述性统计，研究了农场层面洋葱生产的技术效率。根据随机前沿分析的最大似然估计，灌溉洋葱的平均技术效率为 53%。通过利用当前技术改进农业方法，可以提高灌溉洋葱的平均生产效率。随机前沿模型的最大似然估计表明，地块大小、磷酸二铵和耕牛对洋葱产量有显著影响；教育、牲畜存栏、经验和浇水频率对技术效率有正向显著影响，而家庭规模和营销培训对技术效率有负向显著影响。因此，政府或任何相关机构应在现有的农民培训中心提供持续的定期培训和综合成人教育；推广现代畜牧业生产技术；进一步开发地下水资源并采用适当的灌溉技术，因为目前农民使用的灌溉系统效率低下，特别是沟灌。
