A Stochastic Frontier Approach for Measuring Technical Efficiencies of Date Farms in Southern Tunisia

Mounir Belloumi and Mohamed Salah Matoussi
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Mounir Belloumi: University of Sousse
Mohamed Salah Matoussi: University of EI Manar

Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2006, vol. 35, issue 2, pages 285-298

Abstract: The main objective of this research is to compare estimates of technical efficiency obtained from the stochastic frontier approach for two samples of farmers of private and water user as-sociations in the Nefzaoua Oases region (Tunisia), which are characterized by a severe scar-city of water and especially a high degree of salinity. Technical inefficiency effects are mod-eled as a function of farm-specific socioeconomic factors. Results suggest that both systems are technically inefficient. On average, the private system is found to be slightly more efficient than the associative one. Date yield could be explained mainly by four variables: water quan-tity applied per palm tree, labor per palm tree, phosphate per palm tree, and water salinity. Output elasticities of all inputs are found to be positive and significant except for the farmyard manure. Water salinity has a considerable negative impact on date productivity. For the tech-nical inefficiency model, none of the socioeconomic variables seem to matter.

Keywords: salinization; private and GIC systems; technical efficiency; Nefzaoua oases; date production; groundwater management (search for similar items in EconPapers)

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