Technical Efficiency Analysis of Rice Production of Farmers in Chai-Nat

Abstract

     The purposes of this research were 1) to study rice production condition of farmers in Chai-Nat, 2) to analyze technical efficiency of rice production of farmers in Chai-Nat, and 3) to analyze factors influencing inefficiency of rice production of farmers in Chai-Nat. The sample group included 400 heads of rice farmer households in Chai-Nat derived through stratified sampling method. The Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) was employed as a research tool. A series of descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation as well as inferential statistics including t-statistics, F-statistics, and Chi–squared analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.

     The results revealed that 1) the majority of sample grew rice on both their own area and rented area with 21–30 years of rice cultivation experience and membership of agricultural organizations; and also participated in cultivation trainings in 2017/18 crop year. They produced rice and other agricultural products but not certified under the GAP standard and encountered flood or drought during production. 2) The efficiency value for rice production in Chai-Nat was 0.862 regarded at high level. The rate of usage in fertilizer, labor, and agricultural machinery were the factors influencing production of rice with statistical significance. And 3) water irrigation management, rice cultivation experience, rice cultivation training participation, membership of agricultural organizations, and farmer career diversity could be regarded as the factors influencing inefficiency of rice production. That is to say; the inefficiency could be expected to decrease when those factors are positively changed.