Measurement and analysis of technical efficiency in the production of wheat and barley crops in Erbil Governorate for the agricultural season 2020-2021

Abstract

The study aimed to measure the technical efficiency in the production of crops (wheat and barley) in Erbil Governorate. Using the stochastic frontier analysis method and Maximum-Likelihood (ML) Model, which combines both stochastic frontier and the effects of inefficiency models. based on preliminary data collected randomly for a sample of 58 farms in Erbil Governorate. The study used the Cobb-Douglas production function using four traditional production factors, which are (land, labor, machinery, and fertilizers) in addition to a dummy variable (D1), which represents supplementary irrigation, to estimate the parameters of the stochastic frontier model. As for estimating the parameters of the inefficiency effects model, two variables were used, namely, rainfall rates and farmer’s level of education. The results of estimating technical efficiency showed that the overall average efficiency in the study sample amounted to 60%, and it was also found that supplementary irrigation is the most important and most effective factor on grain production, followed by the land factor

The study also found that about (100%) of the deviations from the production frontier are due to the inefficiency in the use of resources. One of the most important suggestions of the study is to expand the role of Agricultural guidance in educating farmers to apply modern agricultural techniques in production to raise their production efficiency.