Productivity growth for corn: A comparative analysis for selected South African economies

Abstract

Abstract This study aims at identifying the sources of productivity growth for corn in eleven South African economies. The Malmquist productivity growth index and its two components are calculated and regressed on various variables including fertilizer use intensity, irrigation use intensity, agricultural labor intensity, and openness to international trade. The empirical evidence suggests that the economies in the region are largely inefficient and can raise output by at least 22.4 percent and at most 62.2 percent without altering the current level of inputs and type of technologies. The results further indicate that the major source of productivity growth is technical progress rather than efficiency change. The second stage regression results show that the source of TFP change over time is mainly due to investments in fertilizer use intensity and irrigation.