Evaluating input use efficiency in agriculture through a stochastic frontier production: An application on a case study in Apulia (Italy). (1st November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Benedetti, Ilaria; Branca, Giacomo; Zucaro, Raffaella
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 236(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11-01
• Subjects: Water technical efficiency -- Stochastic frontier production function -- Sustainable crop production -- Management irrigation; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117609
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Water is considered the most critical resource for sustainable agricultural development worldwide. Water scarcity has become an issue, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. There is the need to develop efficient management options to reduce water consumption and waste. In order to measure irrigated crop technical efficiency, a stochastic frontier production method – in which the inefficiency component is heteroscedastic – is used with the aim to assess what crop type and production technique revealed highest efficiency. The model is applied to a case study in southern Italy by using 2016 data from the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network. Our results show that the assumption of heteroscedasticity in the one-sided error term in the stochastic frontier is valid: individual farms' characteristics critically influence technical efficiency. Processing tomato is the most efficient crop production system; organic farms tend to have a lower level of technical efficiency compared to conventional farms; and fertigation system is found to increase the level of technical efficiency. Highlights: Efficient agriculture water management through improved water use is a critical response to growing water scarcity. This paper aims at measuring technical efficiency of irrigated crop production in Italy giving emphasis on the water use input. The adopted stochastic approach allows us to incorporate the one-sided component error which reflects farms inefficiency. Model results indicate that comparable technical efficiency scores among farms does exist.