Abstract

Gideon A. Obare, Daniel O. Nyagaka Wilson Nguyo and Samuel M. Mwakubo

Irish potato production in Kenya has been on the decline, yet this crop is a major staple and a source of
cash from sales. Using a random sample of 127 smallholder farmers in Nyandarua North district this paper
applied a dual stochastic efficiency decomposition technique and a two - limit Tobit model, after
disaggregating economic efficiency components using a dual stochastic frontier function, to analyze
resource allocative efficiency in Irish potato production. This is in view of the unclear determinants of
declining potato production trends in Kenya and considering that the Irish potato is a major staple and cash
crop. The paper establishes that Irish potato production in Nyandarua North district is characterized by
decreasing returns to scale with a mean allocative efficiency of 0.57. It was further established that farming
experience, access to extension and credit, and membership in a farmers’ association positively and
significantly influenced allocative efficiency. Implications of the study results are drawn.