: Climate Change and Technical Efficiency of Women Maize Producers in Northern Cameroon

The effects of climate change are increasingly visible and are affecting agricultural yields, leading to a decline in the income of agricultural households and subsequently increasing food insecurity. It is therefore necessary to optimize the production of small farmers, which requires an improvement in their efficiency levels while considering the impact of climate disturbances. This study aims to analyze the technical efficiency of maize producers in the Ngong sub-division, Benoue Division, North Cameroon region, in relation to the variability of climatic parameters observed. The goal is to estimate the efficiency levels of producers and evaluate the influence of climatic parameters on these efficiency levels. To achieve this, a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 100 women maize producers. Efficiency scores were estimated using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method with DEAP version 2.1 software. The Tobit model is utilized to identify sources of inefficiencies. Under the assumption of constant returns to scale (CRS), technical efficiency levels in the study area range from 7% to 100%, with an average value of 32.1%. The average levels of technical efficiency scores imply that there are better combinations of inputs for the inefficient these women producers that will allow them to be on the frontier. The analysis of the sources of inefficiency suggests that the experience of the farm manager, access to agricultural finance, and access to technical support in terms of farmer and farm characteristics have significant influences on efficiency levels. Regarding climate parameters, rainfall and temperature have a negative and significant influence on efficiency levels. The adaptation measures that women most commonly use and that have a positive influence on efficiency levels include adjusting the cultural calendar, using resistant varieties, and developing irrigation systems. Irrigation is the adaptation measure that has a significant positive influence on the efficiency levels of women maize producers.