FACTORS AFFECTING PROFITABILITY OF SMALL SCALE FARMING IN SOUTHERN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Hazel Patterson-Andrews and Carlisle A. Pemberton

International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), 2014, vol. 02, issue 3, 18

Abstract: This study examined several possible factors determining the profitability of small scale crop farmers in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. Industrial/urban influence on profit efficiency was tested by the creation of a special variable (IFOUR). This variable along with farming and socio-economic variables were incorporated into a translog augmented stochastic profit frontier. The significance of coefficients was tested as well as the calculation of the elasticity of profit with respect to the wage rate. The study found a significant negative impact of wage rates on profitability. Also the age of the farmer negatively affected profitability, while the number of years farming had a positive effect. This latter variable also significantly influenced both the one-sided error and idiosyncratic error terms. However IFOUR measuring industrial/urban influence did not significantly affect the profitability. The farmers had a mean profit efficiency of 48.4%, which was low in international comparisons.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Agricultural Finance; Crop Production/Industries; Productivity Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:ijfaec:186263

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.186263

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