ABSTRACT The study analyzed efficiency of latex production and labour productivity in rubber plantations in Edo and Delta States, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to examine socio- economic characteristics of rubber farmers, determine the profitability of latex production and ; determine the technical efficiency of factors employed in latex production. Primary data were collected from 300 rubber farmers using a multi stage, purposive and random sampling techniques. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier production function. Analyses of the result revealed that respondents were literate, majority were married (76%) with a mean family size of 7 people, had mean farming experience of 19 years. The gross margin analysis showed that average variable cost/ha was N55, 700.94 with total revenue (TR) and Gross margin (GM) per hectare of N163,594.17 and N107,893.23 respectively. The Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) of the parameters of the stochastic frontier production function of rubber farmers revealed that number of trees/ task, labour; farm size and age of plantation, clone, wage and depreciation on fixed cost items were significantly related with rubber output. The mean technical efficiency (TE) of rubber farmers was 0.84 with the scope of improving their efficiency by 16%. Education, extension contact and experience were the significant factors that increase the technical efficiency of rubber farmers. The resuscitation of extension activities of ADPs in the rubber belt of the country through adequate funding by government to improve the efficiencies of farmers, replanting of old plantations using improved clones and the formation of cooperative societies by farmers to enable them access production credit amongst others were recommended in the study.

Keywords: profitability, efficiency, latex, rubber