Abstract

Farm labour organizes and ensures the transformation of farm inputs into output. Scarcity of labour was due to drudgery and poor working conditions. Available labour force was mainly aged farmers leading to inadequate arable production. This study examined determinants of farm labour production efficiency to identify the factors required for farm expansion and efficient labour use. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 300 respondents from four Agricultural zones in Southwest Nigeria through structured questionnaire. The data were collected through a cross-sectional survey and analysed using descriptive statistics and Stochastic Production Frontier. The results revealed that 57.7% of the farmers had extension contacts, average education was 8.47 years while 65.3% cultivated below 1.0 ha with cassava (51.0%) as main crop. Majority (85.3%) did not employ tractor services, 33.0% used fertiliser, and 34.0% used herbicides while 38.3% applied pesticides.