Whose Extension Matters? Role of Governmental and Non-Governmental Agricultural Extension on the Technical Efficiency of Rural Nepalese Farms

South Asian economies are characterised by agrarian dominancy. Despite this agriculture is unable to meet even the domestic demands. Low levels of productivity and inefficiency of the farms are among the main causes. Hence, finding appropriate ways to increase productivity and efficiency is important to improve individual household welfare as well as to feed the ever increasing population. In this context, the objective of this research is to explore characteristics that significantly affect technical efficiency of the crop producing farms. 124 samples were purposively selected from the Far Western Region of Nepal. Household heads were interviewed with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data on farming systems. Stochastic Frontier Production Function was used to estimate the effect of different variables on the farm’s technical efficiency. Results showed significantly positive effect of agricultural extension provided by non-governmental organisations but negative although insignificant effect of agricultural extension provided by the governmental organisations on the technical efficiency of the crop producing farms. Results implied the need of policy reconsideration to increase the role of non-governmental organisations in providing agricultural extension services, especially for the developing agrarian economies like Nepal in the South Asian region.