Assessing and Explaining the Efficiency of Extensive Olive Oil Farmers: The Case of Pelion Peninsula in Greece

Spyros Niavis, Nikos Tamvakis, Basil Manos () and George Vlontzos
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Spyros Niavis: Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38333 Volos, Greece
Nikos Tamvakis: Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Development, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece
George Vlontzos: Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Development, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece

Agriculture, 2018, vol. 8, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: The production of olives and olive oil in the Mediterranean region is one of the most important cultivations. The continuous changes imposed by the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) towards strengthening the influence of market forces have increased the necessity for the assessment of the efficiency of production protocols or patterns being implemented by the farmers. As regards olive trees cultivation, the efficiency of inputs utilization has not been studied in depth, despite the fact that this is a critical issue for both farmers and consumers. This study evaluates the efficiency rates of 100 Greek agricultural holdings specialized on olive trees cultivation by implementing a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) input oriented model. The inputs being used are land, fertilizers, agrochemicals, labour, and energy. The output being used is the revenue of each holding. The results quantify the significant variations of efficiency scores, providing evidence that there is space for restructuring the production process, in order to improve efficiency and thus decrease the production cost of inefficient farmers.

Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis; olives; efficiency; Greece; Mediterranean region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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