Effects of flooding-induced migration on farm technical efficiency in Rivers State, Nigeria

Publication Type

Journal Article

Name of Author

• Jacinta Nmutaka Umechukwu, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, GhanaFollow
• Daniel Bruce Sarpong, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Ghana
• Akwasi Mensah-Bonsu, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Ghana
• Ama Ahene-Codjoe, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Ghana
• Taeyoon Kim, Institute of Green Bio Science and Technology, Graduate School of International Agricultural Development, Seoul National University, South Korea

Publication Date (Issue Year)

2025

Journal Name

Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Abstract

This study assessed the effects of flooding-induced migration on farm technical efficiency in Rivers State. Data were collected on episodes that occurred between 2011 and 2022 to estimate the trend of flooding in the study area and also farm technical efficiency (TE), specifically from 2022 production activities. Translog Stochastic frontier was estimated and TE generated. The effect of migration on farm’s TE was analyzed using endogenous treatment effect model and the average treatment effects were estimated. Results obtained showed that flooding episodes occurred yearly in the twelve years under review. The Stochastic frontier analysis showed that migration has a positive and significant coefficient in the inefficiency model, thus depicting that migration increases technical inefficiency. The TE results showed that migrants operate at 71.17 % efficiency and nonmigrants at 74.63 %. This shows that both groups of farmers have room for improvement to achieve efficient production. The result of average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) is significant, with a mean difference of negative 3.85 % and also significant for the untreated (ATU) with 2.01 % value of mean difference. This means that the TE of migrants reduced by 3.85 percent and their expected TE will increase by 2.01 percent if they are not faced with flooding problems and did not migrate. This shows that migration indeed, as seen in the technical inefficiency model, affects TE. It is recommended that government and stakeholders should initiate and execute projects meant to curb flooding in these communities. The ministry of agriculture should engage the Famers in educational activities on how to manage their farms, combine crops, and proper fertilizer and labour usage for optimum output. These will improve their farm technical efficiency

Keywords

Flooding, Migration, Crop output, Technical efficiency, Effect

Rsif Scholar Name

Jacinta Nmutaka Umechukwu

Rsif Scholar Nationality

Nigeria

Cohort

Cohort 2

Thematic Area

Food security and Agribusiness

Africa Host University (AHU)

University of Ghana (UoG), Ghana

Funding Statement

This study was funded by the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology/Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (PASET-RSIF) through the award of a PhD scholarship to the lead author. This study emanates from two of the objectives of the PhD thesis. The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent PASET-RSIF.

Recommended Citation

Umechukwu, J. N., Sarpong, D. B., Mensah-Bonsu, A., Ahene-Codjoe, A., & Kim, T. (2025). Effects of flooding-induced migration on farm technical efficiency in Rivers State, Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102189