This paper investigates factors that influence technical efficiency in rice-based
production systems among fadama farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Primary data were used
in the analysis of data. The analytical tools include descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier
production function, which incorporates technical inefficiency model using the maximumlikelihood
estimation (MLE), applied on a cross-sectional data of 122 sampled farmers during
2002/2003 cropping season. The results show that rice sole crop, rice-maize and rice-cocoyam
were the common cropping patterns adopted by farmers. The MLE estimates of the parameters of
the stochastic frontier production function reveals that the elasticities of output with respect to
land (0.157), seeds (0.146) and other costs (0.382) were significant at (? = 0.01), while fertilizer
(0.172) and water (0.082) were significant at (? = 0.05) The inefficiency model reveals that
farming experience and education significantly affect framers’ efficiency levels. Technical
efficiencies vary widely among farms, ranging between 0.26 and 0.97 and a mean technical
efficiency of 0.80. The economic implication of the study is that efficiency in rice production among
fadama farmers in Adamawa State could be increased by 20 percent through better use of available
resources, given the current state of technology. This can be achieved through policy interventions
that contribute to better access to: improved seeds, irrigation water, fertilizer and farmer-specific
efficiency factors, which include enhanced farmer education.