TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF POULTRY ENTERPRENEURS IN ABIA STATE: A STOCHASTIC FRONTIER APPROACH.

This study examined the technical efficiency of the agribusiness poultry entrepreneurs in Abia state. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 180 poultry farmers. An estimated gamma value (γ) of 42.11% was highly significant at 1% level of probability implying that 42.11% of random variation in the output of the poultry entrepreneurs was due to the inefficiency in their respective farms and not as a result of random variability. Feed and drugs/vaccines were positively related to output of the poultry operators respectively while labour input and capital inputs were negatively related to output of the poultry. The average poultry operators were able to obtain 81% of potential output from a given mixture of production inputs. Age and credit access negatively influenced the technical efficiency of the poultry entrepreneurs while stock size, business experience and level of education positively affected efficiency of the entrepreneurs. Insufficient funds and theft were the major problems affecting poultry farming in the study area. Efforts to reducing the costs incurred on fixed items by these entrepreneurs should be encouraged such as provision of timely loans and credits by banks to reduce time lag in production cycles. Credits inform of stocks, feeds and drugs/vaccines from trusted sources will boost productivity, efficiency and income with little financial burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]