Adoption and Efficiency of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Users

Pesticide overuse has several negative effects on soil, health, and environment. As a result, several Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technologies have been developed for use on vegetables and adopted by farmers. The present study compares the technical efficiency level of eggplant IPM adopters and non-adopters. A total of 283 farmers were interviewed in 2015. A stochastic frontier production function with sample selection approach was used to compare the technical efficiency of IPM adopters and non-adopters. Experience and training on IPM significantly influenced adoption of IPM. The mean technical efficiency of adopters is higher compared to non-adopters. The findings also indicate that due to selectivity bias the conventional model over estimates technical efficiency. Highest 32.65% and 30.41% of the adopters and non-adopters have technical efficiency scores ranging between 60 and 80%. Market accessibility negatively influenced technical inefficiency. The study concludes that in order to further improve effective Government policy and extension efforts are warranted.