Comparison of Technical Efficiency of Wheat Production between the Provinces Implementing New Agricultural Extension System and Other Provinces

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Abstract

Extension and education of farmers in the innovative use of production resources plays an important role in the optimal use of resources. The main purpose of this study was to compare the technical efficiency of wheat production between the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system and other provinces in Iran. The required data were obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture's website for the period of 2015-2019 and their analysis was performed using data envelopment analysis method. The results showed that the mean of input-oriented technical efficiency under constant and variable efficiency in the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system was 0.59 and 0.75 and in other provinces was 0.56 and 0.72, respectively. Also, the amount of technical efficiency under constant and variable efficiency in the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system is 0.58 and 0.66 and in other provinces was 0.55 and 0.62, respectively. Since the technical efficiency of input-oriented in two group of provinces has been statistically different, it can be said that the implementation of the new promotion system has reduced the consumption of wheat production inputs. Considering the success of the implementation of the new extension system, it is recommended that the government pay attention to the implementation of this system in all provinces and not unilateral support for a limited number of specific provinces.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Extended Abstract

Introduction

Increasing population and demand for food on one hand, and decreasing natural resources and the effects of climate change on the other hand, have caused maximum capacity (development of cultivation level, increasing cultivation frequency and increasing yield) to be used for production. Given that the development of the area under cultivation seems to have reached its maximum value and available water resources are limited and scarce, efficient use of production inputs using innovative methods will play an important role in the future. Today, wheat is one of the most vital products in the consumption pattern of households in the world and is used as a political tool in international relations and even for exerting political pressure on countries of the Third World.  To meet the demand for wheat, it is necessary to produce this crop with high efficiency. In this regard, extension and education of wheat farmers is one of the most basic strategies. The necessity of remedy for resolving the challenges ahead of the agricultural extension system and improving the relevant structure and organization has led to the design of the new agricultural extension system. The new agricultural extension system has been started since 2015 in East and West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Khorasan Razavi, Zanjan, Fars, Qazvin, Kerman, Kermanshah, Golestan and Mazandaran provinces. A set of policy-making, planning, executive and regulatory mechanisms that have been designed with the aim of improving the technical and managerial skills of the beneficiaries, improving productivity in the production and services of the agricultural sector, as well as optimal use of basic production resources and agricultural inputs. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the new agricultural extension system on technical efficiency of wheat production in Iran.

Materials and Methods

For that purpose, data collected for the period of 2016 to 2019 from the portal of the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture and analyzed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In order to compare the technical efficiency of wheat producers between the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system and other provinces, first, the normality test of technical efficiency values was performed using Jarque-Barra test and then due to the non-normality of the estimated technical efficiency values, Kruskal-Wallis and Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests were used.

Results and suggestion

Results show that the CRS and VRS output-oriented technical efficiency in the provinces implementing new agricultural extension system were 0.58 and 0.66, respectively, and in other provinces were 0.55 and 0.62, respectively. The average output-oriented scale efficiency in the implementing and other provinces were 0.88 and 0.90, respectively, and the average input-oriented scale efficiency in the implementing and other provinces were 0.49 and 0.75, respectively. These results show that wheat is not produced on an optimal scale and as a result, the results of CRS technical efficiency are not reliable. Therefore, the results of VRS technical efficiency were used to compare the technical efficiency of wheat farmers. Considering that the scale efficiency values are larger than the technical efficiency values, the management problem is more serious than the problem of size. The results of normality test of technical efficiency values indicated that the efficiency values were not normal and nonparametric tests were used to evaluate the impact of the new agricultural extension system. The results of these tests also showed that there is a significant difference in input-oriented technical efficiency values in the implementing and other provinces. This indicates the effect of the new system on reducing input consumption in wheat production. On the other hand, the results show that the new system has not statistically significant effect on output-oriented technical efficiency. The results of input-oriented technical efficiency indicate that wheat farmers in the studied provinces do not behave optimally in the use of inputs. Therefore, it is recommended to increase the knowledge of wheat farmers about the optimum level of inputs by extension and education services. Considering the success of the implementation of the new extension system in increasing the technical efficiency of wheat farmers, the government's attention to the implementation of the new development system in all provinces and not unilateral support for a limited number of specific provinces is recommended. The results indicate a difference in efficiency in different provinces, so in any planning to improve wheat efficiency, regional conditions should be considered and the same version should be avoided for all provinces.

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Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 54, Issue 1
March 2023
Pages 21-34

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