Analysis of levels and determinants of technical efficiency of wheat producing farmers in Ethiopia

Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops in Ethiopia, ranking fourth in total cereals production (16%) next to maize, sorghum and teff. Despite its potential for wheat grain production, Ethiopia falls short of being self-sufficient in wheat, and is currently a net importer of wheat grain. This study examines levels of and determinants of technical efficiency of wheat producing farmers in Ethiopia. Data was collected from 2017 farm households from the four major wheat growing regions of Ethiopia where around 85% of the country wheat production comes from. Cobb-Douglas functional model were used to analyze level of technical efficiency whereas quantile regression (QR) technique were employed to analyze factors that affect technical efficiency. The study indicated the average efficiency level of wheat producing farmers is 0.66 implying the huge potential to increase wheat production given the existing technological level and without any additional investment in agricultural research. Several institutional, socioeconomic and biophysical and agro ecological factors affect technical efficiency in wheat production in Ethiopia. Key words: Technical efficiency, wheat, Ethiopia.