Determination of Technical Efficiency and Optimum Size of Rice Farms in Mazandaran Province (Case study: Fereydunkenar County)

International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development

مقاله 4، دوره 10، شماره 3، آذر 2020، صفحه 257-265   

نوع مقاله: Research Article

نویسندگان

Reza Esfanjari Kenari¹؛ Mahmoud Ahmadpour Borazjani^{* 2}؛ Ahmad Ali Kaikha³؛ Saman Ziaei³؛ Mashala Salarpour²

¹Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

²Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

³Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

چکیده

A reason for the success of the agricultural sector in developed countries is the regulation of farm size as it allows for the scale economy of production. Considering that the size of agricultural production units should be specifically determined based on the crop and the area where it is produced, this study aims to determine the optimum size of rice farms in Fereydunkenar County, Mazandaran Province. So, 198 farmers were randomly interviewed in 2014. The results show that the optimal economic size of the farms in the study area is 1.949 ha, 43% larger than the average cultivation area in the region. The results of the technical efficiency using the Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data model (StoNED) also show that paddy size has a direct correlation with the efficiency of these units in the studied area and production in larger farms is more economical and efficient. Therefore, it is suggested to consider plans to encourage rice farmers to establish cooperatives and change their farm management style from small farm owning to integrated management.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Farm management؛ Fereydunkenar County؛ optimum size؛ Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data

مراجع

Agricultural Jihad Office of Mazandaran (2016). Statistical Yearbook (report No. 2014). Retrieved from Website: http:// http://jkmaz.ir/En/HomeEn.

Anatolii, M. (2015). Land concentration and the optimal size of agricultural enterprises in the Polissia zone of Ukraine. Public Policy and Administration Review, 3(1), 54-60.

Bakhshodeh, M., & Akbari, A.(2009). Production economics (its usage in agriculture). Second edition, Kerman: Kerman University Press, Iran.

Bojnec, S., Latruffe, L. (2007). Farm size and efficiency: The case of Slovenia. 100^th Jubilee Seminar of European Association of Agricultural Economists “Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Central and Eastern Europe”.Novi Sad, 21st-23rd June 2007.

Boussemart, J., Butault, J.P. & Matvejev, E. (2006). Economies of scale and optimal farm size in the Estonian dairy sector. 96^th European Association of Agricultural Economists seminar, Taenikon, Switzerland.

Burja, C., & Burja, V. (2016). Farm size and efficiency of production factors in Romanian agriculture. Economics of Agriculture, 63 (2), 361-374.

Esfanjari Kenari, R. (2012). Economic Investigation of laying Hen Industrial Units. M.S. dissertation, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Iran.

Fernandez, M.D., & Nuthall, P. (2012). Farm size and its effect on the productive efficiency of sugar cane farms in Central Negros, the Philipinnes. International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences, 18(1), 49-61.

Greene, W. H., (2008). The Econometric Approach to Efficiency Analysis. In Fried, H., Knox Lovell, C. A., and Schmidt, S., editors, The Measurement of Productive E_ciency and Productivity Growth. Oxford University Press, New York. 92-250.

Hasanpour, B., Keshavarz, K., & Mohtashami, R. (2012). Determine the optimum size of rice field and economic efficiency of rice grower in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province. 15^th National Rice Summit of the Country. February 20. Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran.

Hassanpour, B. (2013). Determining the optimal size and economic efficiency of paddy farms in KB Province, Iran. International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences, 5 (19), 2318-2321.

Hosseinzad, J., Aref, T., & Dashti, G. (2010). Determination of optimum size for rice farms in Guilan Province. Agricultural Economics and Development, 23(2), 117-127.

Jondrow, J., Lovell, C. A. K., Materov, I. S., Schmidt, P. (1982). On the estimation of technical inefficiency in the stochastic frontier production function model. Journal of econometrics, 19, 233-238.

Kuosmanen, T. (2006). Stochastic nonparametric envelopment of data: Combining virtues of SFA and DEA in a Unified Framework", MTT Discussion Paper No. 3/2006.

Kuosmanen, T., & Kortelainen, M. (2012). Stochastic non-smooth envelopment of data: Semi-parametric frontier estimation subject to shape constraints. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 38(1), 11-28.

Ogunbo, M. (2015). Resource-use efficiency and optimal farm plan in pepper (Capsicum spp.) production in Ogun state, Nigeria. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 15(4), 10255-10271.

Okoye, B.C., Agbaeze, C.C., Asumugha, G.N., Aniedu, O.C., & Mbanaso, E.N.A. (2009). Small is beautiful: Empirical evidence of an inverse relationship between farm size and productive efficiency in small-holder cassava production in Ideato North LGA of Imo State. National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State. MPRA Paper No. 17418, 22:52

Theodorou, J., Sorgeloos, P., Adams, C., Viaene, J., & Tzovenis, I. (2010). Optimal farm size for the production of the Mediterranean mussel in Greece. Biennial conference of International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET), July 13-16, Montpellier, France.