Profitability and Technical Efficiency of Soybean Producers in the Municipality of Tanguiéta in Benin

Abstract

This study was carried out in the year November 2020. The general objective of this study was to assess the profitability and Technical efficiency of soybean producers in the municipality of Tanguiéta. A survey of a sample of 184 producers was selected at random in Center of Tanguiéta, Taïacou, Cotiakou, N’Dahonta and Tanongou of the municipality. In order to analyze the financial profitability of soybean production, the interviews focused on data in order to estimate the technical efficiency scores of each producer and to establish the operating account of the sampled producers. Thus, the most efficient and the average or weakly efficient producers whose technical efficiency scores are less than or equal to 50%. Gross margin, yield, value added per hectare and profit to production cost ratio were estimated. The results showed that the technical efficiency indices of the producers surveyed varied between 11% and 91.1% with an average of 45.62%. Soybean production is financially profitable depending on the level of technical efficiency although the yields obtained are very low for each of the groups. The profit to cost of production ratio revealed that the group of the most efficient producers has the best ratio (1.18> 0.93), showing that soybean producers are technically inefficient overall. With regard to the indicators, they are far from the production potential expected in Benin.