Factors affecting the technical efficiency of oil palm fruit processing units in South-East Benin

As the independent Benin's first export crop, oil palm continues to play an important role in the Beninese economy and society despite the decline in its production that has begun since the 1970s. It is present in most cropping systems throughout southern Benin. The objective of this article is, on the one hand, to assess the level of technical efficiency of oil palm fruit processing units in South-East Benin and, on the other hand, to analyze the determinants of this technical efficiency. The so-called "two-step" method was used, which consists of using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model for the analysis of technical efficiency scores followed by a Tobit regression model to analyze the determinants of technical efficiency. The data used were collected in 2018 within the Adja-Ouere municipality. The results obtained show that the average technical efficiency score of the processing units is 0.891, which means that it is still possible to improve the production. The analysis of the determinants of technical efficiency showed that variables such as membership to an agricultural producer organization and the number of direct relatives involved in the processing activity improve the technical efficiency of oil palm fruit processing units. Key words: Oil palm fruit processing, the so-called "two-step" method, data envelopment analysis, Tobit model, Benin.