Journal of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences

Measuring the Productive Efficiency and Identifying the Inefficiency Determinants of Dairy Farms in Amasya Province, Turkey
Esin Hazneci, Vedat Ceyhan

Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the productive efficiency and to identify the inefficiency determinants of dairy farms in Merzifon, a district of Amasya province located in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey. Productive efficiency scores were calculated by using Stochastic Frontier Analysis. Tobit model was used to determine the inefficiency determinants. Farm-level research data were obtained from 67 randomly selected dairy farms. Study results revealed that the average amount of milk produced on dairy farms in Merzifon district could be increased in the ratio of 22% with the current technology. The technical efficiency of the sample dairy farms ranged from 0.56 to 0.99 (mean 0.78). Variables such as education level of farm operators, feeding frequency, the ratio of Holstein stock and land allocated to fodder crops affected technical inefficiency negatively. For this purpose, this study proposes new strategies such as providing better agricultural extension services and farmer training programs to increase the educational level of farmers, and providing farmers with the opportunity of accessing loan to enhance their technical efficiency.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v4n1a13