Rural Out-migration and Its Impact on Crop Production Efficiency of Producers in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The research delt with the effect of labour out-migration on output per hectare and efficiency of wheat and teff producers in Kembata-Tembaro and Hadiya zones of Ethiopia based on primary data gathered from 415 random sample of rural households. The multinomial endogenous switching model was used as an analytical model. According to the stochastic frontier model, the mean efficiency of wheat and teff are 82.98 and 66.43 per cent, respectively. According to the econometric results, rural–urban and international migration reduces wheat productivity by 110.94 and 179.11 kg, respectively. The average treatment effect on treated (ATT) also revealed that participation in international migration reduces Teff producers’ technical efficiency by 5.51 per cent. However, teff productivity is reduced by 382.94 and 747.49 kg due to rural urban and international migration, respectively. The lost labour channel of the modern theory of migration is maintained by the result of the study. So as to minimise the negative impact of out-migration in the study area, policymakers must focus more on promoting access to credit, irrigation, land, off-farm employment and public services for rural households.