Assessment of Input-Output Transformation in Purple Passion Fruit Production in Central-Eastern and North-Rift, Kenya

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been increasing economic importance of purple passion fruit in Kenya. The primary objective of this study was to assess the input-output transformation process in purple passion fruit production in Central-Eastern and North-Rift Kenya in order to identify avenues for improving and sustaining productivity. Cross-sectional data from 123 multistage sampled farmers was collected using a structured questionnaire, which was subjected to stochastic frontier in STATA 11 for analysis. The results showed that the purple passion fruit production input elasticity was 0.95 which represented Decreasing Returns to Scale (DRS). The results also indicated that passion fruit farm size and manure had a negative and positive significant effect on purple passion fruit yields at 1% significance level, respectively. On the other hand, number of seedlings and hired labor variables had positive and significant effect on the fruit yields at 5% level. The results implied that passion farm size was overused while manure, number of seedlings and hired labor were underused. The gamma parameter (γ) was 0.86 which indicates that 86% of the total variation in purple passion fruit output was due to technical inefficiencies. The overall mean Technical Efficiency (TE) was 59% which indicated a cost saving estimate of 32% for the average farmer in attaining the TE of the most technically efficient farmer (86%). The study recommends up-scaling of passion fruit farming information systems so as to provide a basis for optimal use of production resources.