Zira, B.D.

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This study examined the resource – use efficiency in Moringa oleifera (Lam) production in Semi-Arid Region of Nigeria. It focused on the socio – economic characteristics of Moringa oleifera farmers, Resource–use efficiency and constraint affecting Moringa oleifera production in the study area. Data were collected from a random sample of 280 M. oleifera farmers using structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the socio – economic characteristics of the respondents while regression model was used to examine the input-output relationship of Moringa oleifera production. The result revealed that about 64% of the respondents were males, 82% were in the active age of 20-50 years, while 92% have more than 5 people in their families. The result also showed that 71% of the farmers were married, 55% had one form of formal education or the other while about 70% had more than 10 years of farming experience. While 68% had average farmland of 1.8 hectares, about 76% of them depended on their personal savings to finance their farming. The Cobb- Douglas production function gave the best equation fit with an R2 of 0.64 which means that about 64% of the variability in output was explained by the variations in the variables included in the model. The analysis showed that age, family labour and hired labour were positively related to the output. The result also indicated that, family size, hired labour and farm size were significant at 1% while family labour was significant at 5%. Resource productivity analysis revealed that hired labour was over-utilized while family labour was under–utilized. The major problems facing the farmers include inadequate Planting and harvesting technology, pest and disease. Others include poor market, lack of awareness of marketing outlets and inadequate loan/credit facilities. The study therefore recommends that family labour should be increased and hired labour be reduced, this will boost Moringa oleifera production in the study area. Key words: Efficiency, resource, production, Moringa oleifera, semi-arid, Nigeria