The contribution of education and technical efficieney to yield in maize production in small agricultural enterprises in Osmaniye

This study analyzes the relationship between the inputs used in maize production and the resulting yield in the central districts of Osmaniye province, specifically in the villages of Değirmen Ocağı, Kırmıtlı, Yeniköy, and Endel, using the Cobb-Douglas production function. The analysis results were evaluated using regression, correlation, and variance analysis techniques. The reason for conducting the data analysis on maize production is that maize, being a suitable second crop in these areas due to the appropriate land, location, and climatic conditions, is a commonly cultivated agricultural product. The data for the study were collected through face-to-face surveys with 111 farmers and pertains to the 2022-2023 production period. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between yield per hectare and variables such as the farmer's age, experience, use of compound fertilizer, nitrate fertilizer, gender, formal education, technical education, production year, intended use, seed variety, and the institution to which the product is sold. Among these variables, only formal school education and technical education were found to be statistically significant (p<0.01).