Synthesis of reported studies on technical efficiency in Ghanaian agribusiness.

What is it about?

This article presents a meta-analysis on agribusiness using Ghana as a case. Databases including AgEconsearch, Google scholar, EBSCOHost, EmeraldInsight, and Wiley online Library among others were searched in order to identify published studies relating to the subsectors of agribusiness. The selected loglog fractional regression model revealed that mean technical efficiency (MTE) increased over time with a mean value of 62%. MTEs of geographical sections of Ghana are also similar. Time series models possess higherMTEthan panel dataMTEs. In linewith theory, models without functional forms and distance functions elicited higher MTE than Cobb–Douglas and translog functions. Nontraditional agricultural production showed higher MTE than traditional agriculture. MTEs in the production subsector do not differ from those in the manufacturing subsector. While this indifference suggests that value adding manufacturing subsector is as efficient as the primary production agriculture, and the increasing MTE notwithstanding, efficiency improving measures including training in farm management are required to make up for the mean difference of 38% found. [

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The few meta-analyses published on efficiency in agriculture focused on traditional agriculture to the neglect of agribusiness. This happened to be the first synthesis of reported technical efficiency studies in agribusiness. It draws attention to the similarities of the findings with similar studies in related areas of agriculture as well as differences, necessary for policy and further research.