IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 8, Issue 3 Ver. I (Mar. 2015), PP 50-56 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-08315056 www.iosrjournals.org 50 | Page Analysis of Technical Efficiency among Smallholder Farmers in Kisii County, Kenya Nyariki I. S. Kiprop, Bett K. Hillary, Patience Mshenga, Newton Nyairo Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, P.O Box 536-20115, Egerton, Kenya Abstract: Land fragmentation is a major problem in most parts of the world as it restricts agricultural development, reduces productivity and opportunities for rural development. Kisii County shows a clear case of land fragmentation due to high population pressure and poverty. This study was conducted with the aim of examining the effect of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity by examining the technical efficiency of households in the area. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires and analysis done using a Cobb-Douglas production (Stochastic Frontier) function. On factors that influenced land fragmentation, age of the household head, education level of the household head, number of males and females, generations through land has been transferred, amount of output (maize), tillage method, land size, household income, membership to a group and access to extension services were found to be significant at different levels. The technical efficiency was found to be 36.82 with more than half of the households falling below 50%. The quantity of planting fertilizer used, certified seeds and fragmentation index were found to influence the level of technical efficiency. Key words: Technical efficiency, Land fragmentation, Stochastic frontier. I. Introduction In Kenya, 16 per cent of the available land is high and medium agricultural potential with adequate and reliable rainfall. In these areas, there is intensive cropping and dairy production being undertaken. The high and medium agricultural potential areas are dominated by commercial agriculture with cropland occupying 31 per cent, grazing land 30 per cent, and forests 22 per cent. The Arid and Semi-arid land (ASALs) occupy the remaining 84 per cent. ASALS are not suitable for rain-fed farming mainly practiced in Kenya due to the low and erratic rainfall. As much as this is the case, it is estimated that 80% of Kenyas’ population live and derive their livelihoods in the ASALs. The rest of the population occupies the high to medium land area. This puts a lot of pressure on land resulting to the high and medium potential areas being reduced to small scale farms of up to 0.5 – 10 ha. Consequently, about 81% of small-scale farmers occupy holdings of less than 2 ha (MoA, 2009). Increasing agricultural productivity can also be achieved through smallholder agriculture commercialization. This transformation can be realized through key institutions in agriculture, livestock, forestry and wildlife, increasing productivity of crops, livestock and tree cover, improving market access for smallholders and introducing land-use policies that advocate for better use of the high and medium potential lands (ASDS, 2010). In Kenya, there are various land tenure systems being practiced. These include communal land, Government trust land, and privately owned land. The communal land ownership system is one that follows the traditional customary rights, where all individuals in that community have a right to use land though they cannot sell it. Government trust land is land held by ministries, state corporations or other public institutions for public use. Privately owned lands are those that have been registered under freehold or leasehold system. The owners of such land can use it as collateral to access credit (MoA, 2009). Over the years, land ownership that focuses on individual ownership and management of land that allows property inheritance by children has greatly led to land fragmentation. Having a very small piece of land and many children, leads to land being sub-divided into fragments that are not viable for production. Land fragmentation eventually leads to sub-optimal use of factor inputs lowering overall returns expected from a certain parcel of land. The factors that propagate this are loss of time due to traveling to plots, wastage of land along borders, inadequate monitoring, and the inability to use machinery such as tractors and harvesters (ASDS, 2010). Land is considered as one of the most important resource in agriculture and lack of access to it one of the major causes of poverty (UNDP, 2002). The scarcity of agricultural land makes the issue of land use policy a critical one. Policy makers for a long time have been worried by the effect of land fragmentation on agriculture because it is expected to be a negative effect. Policies on land consolidation are frequently implemented to soften the degree of land fragmentation.