Comparative Analysis of Economic Efficiency between Low and High External Input Technology Agriculture in a Harsh Macroeconomic Environment of Imo State, Nigeria

The study compared economic efficiency among smallholder farmers who practiced low external input technology [LEIT] and high external input technology [HEIT] agriculture in a harsh macroeconomic environment typified by inadequate fertilizer subsidy in Imo State, Nigeria. Cross sectional data generated from 160 smallholder farmers randomly selected from 2 out of the 3 agricultural zones in Imo State were used. Profit function was used in analyzing the data. Results showed that the LEIT farmers achieved higher level of economic efficiency relative to their HEIT counterparts, although the difference is statistically non significant. It is therefore recommended that in the face of escalating costs of fertilizer, organic manure could be used. Appropriate policies should be put in place by the government to encourage livestock rearing so as to effectively utilize their bye product-organic manure. Household refuse or bio-degradable from the cities could be channeled to farms to serve as organic manure.