PR - DETERMINANTS OF COST EFFICIENCY OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS: THE CASE OF RAISIN PRODUCERS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract:

The aim of this paper was to contribute to the limited body of knowledge on the factors that affect the cost efficiency of smallholder farmers from South Africa to help smallholder farmers to maximise their return from farming activities while operating in an environment characterised by a severe cash flow constraint. The cost efficiency levels of a group of smallholder raisin producers were found to be low, while regression results showed that only two of the characteristics that were hypothesised to influence cost efficiency were significant. The existing knowledge thus is insufficient to formulate specific actions for intervention to help the smallholder raisin producers to improve their ability to select least cost combinations of production inputs. Further research is necessary to better understand the dynamics of the process through which smallholder farmers decide on the combinations of inputs to use to help them benefiting from improved cost efficiency.

Keywords: Cost efficiency; smallholder farmers; raisin producers; DEA.