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Title
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Farm size and productivity nexus farmers’ welfare in Burundi
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Author
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Abstract
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| This paper presents an economic analysis of small-scale agricultural production efficiency and household welfare in Burundi. We used recent advances in data envelopment analysis (robust DEA) to generate standard and bootstrap-bias-corrected technical efficiency scores for a nationwide sample of farms in the country. Next the correlation between these farm efficiency scores and household poverty levels was checked. Finally, an instrumental variable approach was used to assess the link between household welfare and farm productivity. Findings highlight that smaller farms are more efficient than the larger farms. Yet, given their small size, this efficiency level is not sufficient to raise the farm income above the poverty line which raises concerns about small farms’ viability. Most of them are too small and agriculture can no longer provide a realistic livelihood for the household to earn a living. As a consequence, most of the land-constrained household are poor and food insecure despite their higher productivity. Both consumption and income appear as increasing functions of the farm size. As such, it is hard to appreciate how the inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity can strengthen nearly landless households or how livelihoods can be sustained in small scale farms of Burundi. Fundamental changes in the farming systems and agricultural policy are necessary to increase the scope for sustainable smallholder-led agriculture and its spill-over effects on the country’s economy. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Food & nutrition journal
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Publication
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2018
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DOI
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10.29011/2575-7091.100075
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Volume/pages
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3
:3
(2018)
, p. 1-15
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Article Reference
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175
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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