scholarly journals Organic and Conventional Grape Growing in Italy: a Technical Efficiency Comparison Using a Parametric Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Cisilino ◽  
Fabio A. Madau ◽  
Roberto Furesi ◽  
Pietro Pulina ◽  
Brunella Arru
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Parametric Approach ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Network Database ◽  
Conventional Farms ◽  
Efficiency Comparison

Several studies have focused attention on the differences between organic and conventional farms in terms of efficiency, and controversial findings have resulted from these applications. One source of controversy concerns the assumption about the frontier(s) adopted for the comparison: a common frontier or two separate frontiers for organic and conventional methods? This paper aims to estimate technical efficiency in Italian grape farming. A stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was applied to a sample of 531 farms (440 conventional and 91 organic farms) collected from the Farm Accountancy Network Database. Among others, a test for evaluating whether a unique or separate frontier was performed. The findings suggest that organic and conventional farms would lie on a common frontier and that organic farms have greater capacity than conventional farms in using their own technical inputs (efficiency amounts to 83.6% and 77.8%, respectively). A number of implications derive from these findings.

scholarly journals Technical efficiency and its determinants for Czech livestock farms

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimír Kostlivý ◽  
Zuzana Fuksová
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Conventional Farms ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network

Organic farming has become an important part of Czech agriculture. The aim of this study is an evaluation of the technical efficiency of Czech organic farms and determining the main factors, including subsidies, which affect the technical efficiency of both conventional and organic farms. The Farm Accountancy Data Network Czech Republic (FADN CR) database provides sufficient panel data for this kind of research focusing on types of farming with livestock production. The methodological tool used to achieve the aim of this paper is the parametric stochastic frontier analysis, “True” Random Effects model, supposing farms heterogeneity and time variant determinants of inefficiency. The results of the research verified differences in the technical efficiency of organic and conventional agriculture related both to the different farming methods and to the production conditions. The type of farming and the economic size of farms influence the farms’ profitability, economic performance and comparability with conventional farms. The technical efficiency of organic farming is growing over the long term. Farms with growing technical efficiency show a decline in the proportion of operating subsidies to production, irrespective of their classification in quartiles by the technical efficiency estimate.

scholarly journals Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Tomato Production in Semi-Urban Farms in Cameroon: A Stochastic Frontier Production Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong ◽  
Ernest L. Molua
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Tomato Production ◽  
Frontier Analysis

Agriculture is the mainstay of Cameroon’s economy as it serves the purposes of food, livelihood and employment. Nevertheless, the country’s agriculture is plagued by low productivity and inefficiency in production. One of the main reasons for low productivity is the inability of farmers to fully exploit available technologies and production techniques. An important research question that comes to mind is, what are the major factors that hinder the technical efficiency of smallholder farmers? This study thus aimed to determine the level of technical efficiency in the production of tomato in smallholder farms, relying on primary data collected using a structured survey instrument administered to 80 tomato farmers in the Buea municipality of Cameroon. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a stochastic frontier analysis method in the Cobb-Douglas production function. The STATA.14 software was used to obtain both stochastic frontier estimates and the determinants of technical efficiency. The results indicate that farmers are not fully technically efficient with a mean technical efficiency score of 0.68 with one farmer operating on the frontier. The study also revealed that most of the farmers irrespective of the size of the holdings have shown technical inefficiency problems. The older farmers were observed with the best measures of technical efficiency. Education, age and the adoption and practice of agronomic techniques had a positive and significant influence on technical efficiency while the nearest distance to the extension agent had a rather negative influence on technical efficiency. The input-output relationship showed that the area of tomato cultivation and the quantity of improved seed used were positive and significantly related to output at the 5% level of probability. As a result, it is recommended that farmers should increase their farm size, use of improved seeds and the adoption and practice of novel techniques in production. More emphasis should be placed on extension agents as they have a significant role to play in terms of improving and augmenting farmers’ education and information base through on farm demonstrations and result oriented workshops as all this will ensure increased production and productivity thereby increasing technical efficiency and achieving food self-sufficiency.

scholarly journals Technical Efficiency and Small Scale Maize Producers in Mwanza Region: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukole Kongolo
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Frontier Analysis

This study measured technical efficiency and its determinants in maize production by small-scale producers in Mwanza region, using a stochastic frontier production function approach. A randomly selected sample of participants in the two districts was used. The Maximum Likelihood estimation procedure was followed to obtain the determinants of technical efficiency and technical efficiency levels of small-scale maize producers. The minimum and maximum values of technical efficiency were between 20% and 91%, indicating that the least practices of specific producer operates at a minimum level of 20%, while the best practice producers  operate  at 91% technical efficiency  level respectively. The summary results of the mean technical efficiency was 63%. The main determinants of technical efficiency were labour, farm size, producer’s experience, producer’s age, family size which were all positive and statistically significant. The findings suggest that the average efficiency of small-scale maize producers could be improved by 37% through better use of existing resources and technology. These findings highlight the need for action by government to assist small-scale maize producers improve efficiency.

scholarly journals Technical Efficiency among Pepper Farmers in Sarawak, Malaysia: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-739
Author(s):  
Anita Rosli ◽  
Alias Radam ◽  
Khalid Abdul Rahim ◽  
Amin Mahir Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Piper Nigrum ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
One Step ◽  
The Mean

This study aimed to estimate the technical efficiency among pepper (Piper nigrum. L) farmers in Sarawak, Malaysia, using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). SFA involves a one-step process that can estimate technical inefficacy factors simultaneously with the production frontier. 678 pepper farmers were involved in this study, and the data were collected from 2012 to 2013. The mean score for technical efficiency was 0.518, indicating that pepper farmers were not efficient. However, the inefficiency model showed that education level, membership in farmers’ association, full-time as a pepper farmer, attending courses and visiting sample farms were factors that significantly improved inefficiency. The major problem of pepper farming in Sarawak is poor agricultural practices where farmers do not fully utilize the available agricultural inputs to produce maximum output. Based on the findings, farmers must improve their knowledge and skills in pepper farming through agronomic education.

scholarly journals The trends in efficiency of Lithuanian dairy farms: a semiparametric approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Baležentis ◽  
Tianxiang Li ◽  
Alvydas Baležentis
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Random Coefficients ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Semiparametric Approach ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
Development Paths

This study aims at analysing the trends in efficiency of Lithuanian dairy farms and thus identifying the prospective development paths. The semiparametric approach based on nonparametric regression and Stochastic Frontier Analysis is applied for the analysis. The research relies on Farm Accountancy Data Network and covers family farms. The period of 2004–2011 is considered. In order to identify the underlying trends in dairy farming, we focus on such features as technical efficiency, partial elasticities, and elasticity of scale. The semiparametric approach yielded rather high efficiencies. Specifically, the average technical efficiency of 89% was observed. A decline in technical efficiency during 2004–2011 is present for both point estimates and associated bounds of the confidence interval. Analysis of the elasticity of scale implies that most of the farms could still increase their scale of operation. The obtained results were confirmed by a parametric random coefficients model.

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Exporting Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in India

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Manoj Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Technical Inefficiency ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Efficiency Performance ◽  
Size Firm ◽  
Almost All

This study employs a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and technical inefficiency effects model to predict the technical efficiency of 3,168 Indian manufacturing and exporting SMEs, analyze their returns to scale and key factors impacting on their technical efficiency. Indian manufacturing and exporting SMEs extensively rely on labor rather than capital to increase their output, including almost all exporting SME groups, except those exporting to North & South America. The production of Indian manufacturing SMEs exporting to Oceania, however, has increasing returns to scale (1.1965). The inefficiency effects model reveals that firm size, firm age, foreign ownership, location and government assistance are firm-specific factors that significantly affect the technical inefficiency of production. Finally, evidence-based policies are also provided to facilitate improvement in the technical efficiency performance of Indian manufacturing and exporting SMEs.

scholarly journals Labour efficiency in construction industry in Europe based on frontier methods: data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 787-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanicjusz NAZARKO ◽  
Ewa CHODAKOWSKA
Keyword(s):  
Data Envelopment Analysis ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Efficiency Analysis ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Personnel Cost ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Frontier Analysis

The primary problems pertaining to productivity or – more precisely – efficiency are: how to define it and how to measure it. This article studies technical efficiency in Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) – the input-oriented frontier model – in the construction industry and compares it with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) results. The models ex­plored in this paper were constructed on the basis of two outputs and personnel cost as an input. The research sample consisted of European countries. The aim was to determine whether there are substantial differences in estimation of ef­ficiency derived from those two alternative frontier approaches. The comparison of results according to the models may translate into higher reliability of the undertaken labour efficiency analysis in construction and its conclusions. Although the results are not characterized by high compatibility, the conducted analysis indicated the most attractive countries taking into account labour cost to profit and turnover ratios of enterprises. One of the determinants which should not be ignored when analysing the labour efficiency is the level of development of a country; however, it is not the sole factor affecting the efficiency of the sector.

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