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Measuring and Explaining Technical Efficiency in UK Potato Production
Author(s) -
Wilson Paul,
Hadley Dave,
Ramsden Stephen,
Kaltsas Ioannis
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.157
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1477-9552
pISSN - 0021-857X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-9552.1998.tb01273.x
Subject(s) - production (economics) , index (typography) , crop production , agricultural science , irrigation , agriculture , production–possibility frontier , crop , agricultural economics , economics , agricultural engineering , mathematics , environmental science , agronomy , geography , computer science , microeconomics , engineering , biology , archaeology , world wide web
Technical efficiency in UK maincrop potato production is measured through the estimation of a stochastic frontier production function using cross section data for the 1992 crop year. Variations in the technical efficiency index across production units are explained through a number of managerial and farm characteristic variables following Battese and Coelli (1995). The technical efficiency index across production units ranges from 33 to 97 per cent. Irrigation of the potato crop and storage of potatoes after harvest are positively correlated with technical efficiency. Number of years of experience of growing potatoes, small scale farming practice and chitting of seed potatoes are all negatively correlated with technical efficiency.