The WordPress daily writing prompt yesterday was:

“When do you feel the most productive?”

“Great post!” a fellow blogger commented in reaction to my blogpost titled: “Early Morning…,” which I authored prompted by yesterday’s prompt. I did not over think it, I just wrote the post.

However, I am not too sure that at the time I was writing it I was consciously aware that I was writing about production as opposed to being productive. The difference between production and productivity, we often do not proactively pay attention to.

Case in point, during a session, part of training of youth to become change agents, the following statements were posed to trainees and they were asked to respond yes or no to each:

• If I increase the quantity of cassava I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of cassava I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the production cost for each bag of cassava goes up, then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of cassava that I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the production cost for each bag of cassava stays the same then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of cassava that I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the production cost for each bag of cassava goes down then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of the cassava that I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the sales price for each bag of cassava goes down then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of the cassava that I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the sales price for each bag of cassava remains the same then it means I have increased productivity.

• If I increase the quantity of the cassava that I produce from 5 bags to 10 bags; and the sales price for each bag of cassava goes up then it means I have increased productivity.

For each statement, there were respondents who got it wrong.

For three of the statements, in fact, the majority got it wrong. Signaling that there are many who aren’t fully knowledgeable about the difference between production and productivity.

Insufficient understanding of the difference between production and productivity, i fear, haunts and negatively impedes policymaking and policy implementation. Particularly so, as it applies to rural development and smallholder farming.

You hear and read statements in which activity is planned for increasing production, when in reality production is not necessarily the problem; and what is needed is increasing productivity – issues of efficiency.

What is your take on this?