Evaluation of Palm Groves Technical Efficiency Using
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International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD) Available online on: www.ijamad.iaurasht.ac.ir ISSN: 2159-5852 (Print) ISSN:2159-5860 (Online) Evaluation of Palm Groves Technical Efficiency Using Bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis: A Case Study of Roodkhanehbar Area, Iran Gholamreza Zamanian 1 and Mostafa Khajeh Hassani 2* Received: 26 August 2015, oodkhnehbar area, having approximately 111 thousands of Accepted: 08 Octber 2015 RKeriteh palm trees, is one of the most important areas of date production in the Rudan County1 and the source of peoples’ income in this area, directly or indirectly. As a result, its production efficiency has a critical importance to the orchardists in this region. This study aims to evaluate technical efficiency of palm groves in this area using input-oriented bootstrap data envelopment analysis and sampling 50 palm groves of Keriteh date producers Abstract of Roodkhanehbar area in 2013. The results suggested that 64% Keywords: of date producers operate with less than 50% efficiency and only bootstrap, Data Envelop- 14% of them operate efficiently. The study, then, carries the im- ment Analysis, Hormozgan plication that it is recommended to train the orchardists, providing Province, Keriteh date, Roodkhanehbar, technical a chance for successful orchardists to share their experiences efficiency with others in an attempt to optimize allocation of inputs. 1 Assistant Professor, Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran 2 PhD Candidate, Agricultural Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran * Corresponding author’s email: [email protected] International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, 2016. Agricultural Management and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, International Journal of 1 Rudan County is a county in Hormozgan Province in Iran 475 Evaluation of Palm Groves Technical Efficiency / Zamanian and Khajeh Hassani INTRODUCTION Hormozgan Province is one of the most im- One of the most important economic goals portant producers of dates in the country. There and policies implemented in Iran is to decrease are over 100 varieties of dates in the country, dependency on oil revenues and increase non- 80 of which are planted in Hormozgan palm oil products revenues. Considering oil market gardens. The most important and favorable va- depression in recent years and harmful effects rieties include Mazafati, Khanizi, Shahani, Pi- which single-product export has on the country, aram, Khasoei, Keriteh, Mordasang, Zarak,and the importance of this policy becomes further red Kolk. This province is located in fourth and egregious. Taking this into account and because seventh ranks, respectively in terms of palm of high potentials in agricultural sector, the cultivation and production. It takes five months country policy makers and economists should to harvest dates in this and some other provinces. consider these facts in their planning. Agricultural Roodkhanehbar area, located in Rudan County, sector of Iran includes a wide range of activities is one of the palm growing areas where this ac- and the most important of them is date production, tivity has so much influence on the quality of which as a potential substitute, can provide residents’ lives. This area has the biggest area more work opportunities and thereby support under Keriteh date cultivation with about 100 the development of the country. As shown below groves and over one hectare and 111 thousands (Figure 1), producing 1.061 million tons of palm trees. Despite being very nutritious, Keriteh dates in 2012, Iran had the world’s second rank variety is not considered among other expensive in date production after Egypt. In addition to varieties such as Piaram and Mazafati and is meeting domestic demands andexporting 112030 produced as human, livestock and industrial tons of dates in 2011 Iran is ranked as the third food supply in foreign markets of China, India, country after Iraq and Pakistan,. and Afghanistan. The majority of the people in Despite Iran's rank in production and export this region are laborers at palm groves, and any of dates, this country was ranked twelfth among improvement in the allocation of resources 37 producing countries in 2012, and has had not which leads to the reduction of production costs, great performance per unit area compared to will consequently increaselabor profit, which other competitors such as Egypt, China, Sudan, will considerably accelerate the development Colombia, and America, because of inappropriate of the region. What is of great importance is and traditional production methods in producing evaluation of technical efficiency of the region chain in nation groves (FAO, 2012). For this palm grovesas well as identification of inefficient reason, to maintain the position and increase units; theselead to improvement in resource al- comparative advantages, and subsequently, in- location. Given the perceived necessities, the crease the competition power in foreign markets, present study aimed to evaluate the technical it is always necessary that the performance efficiency of Roodkhanehbar regionKeriteh palm should be improved by studying efficiency and groves in 2013 using bootstrap input oriented productivity indexes of groves of different data envelopment analysis. Despite the fact that regions of the country. extensive studies have already been conducted International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, 2016. and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, Agricultural Management International Journal of 476 Figure 1. The first five date producers of the world Evaluation of Palm Groves Technical Efficiency / Zamanian and Khajeh Hassani in the field of evaluating agricultural sector ac- produced from a particular input cannot be cal- tivities efficiency inside and outside the country, culated by using a sample, because the studied a few of them have used bootstrap data envel- sample is a sample of an unknown population, opment analysis, the most important of them and efficient frontier of the population is unknown. include (Balcombe et al., 2008; Brümmer, 2001; As shown in the following figures, the efficiency Dong & Featherstone, 2006; Gocht & Balcombe, of unit A in Figure 2 significantly changes 2006; Odeck, 2009). A theoretical foundations compared to Figure 3 (Bahadori et al., 2013). and methodology of study;brief description of This efficiency change is a consequence of the data used and the results of model estimation, nonparametric nature of DEA model. As can be are presented here. seen, DEA frontier depends on and is sensitive to the samplesuch that by changing the sample, MATERIALS AND METHODS the previous frontier crumbles down. Of course, Theoretical foundations not all the shortcomings of this model are due In 1957 Farrell calculated efficiency of Amer- to its nonparametric nature; however, it also de- ican agricultural sector based on Economic the- pends on the sample size (Bahadori et al., 2013). ories using nonparametric methods. Citing five To overcome this problem, Simar (1996) designed principles, he constructed a collection called a method entitled Bootstrap DEA approach to production possibility and considered a part of evaluate the variability of efficiency for every sam- its frontier as an estimation of production func- pling (Löthgren & Tambour, 1996; Simar, 1996). tion. Every Decision Making Unit (DMU), In this method, the Bootstrap technique is used which is placed on this frontier, is efficient and to demonstrate ranking and sensitivity of effi- inefficient otherwise (Farrell, 1957). Because ciency scores obtained by DEA method relative of scientific problems in measuring and lim- to the variation of sample combination. Bootstrap itations raised in the Farrell method, it did is a resampling technique proposed by Efron not find much practical application and re- and Tibshirani and is applied to estimate sampling mained silent for years until 1978. To remedy distribution characteristics of an estimator (in cases this problem, Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes when it is difficult to obtain it with other methods) (CCR) introduced the method of Data Envel- (Ebadi, 2011; Efron & Tibshirani, 1993). In the opment Analysis (DEA) by universalizing simplest format, Bootstrap is a random selecting the Farrell method such that it includes the among thousands of pseudo samples by using characteristic of production process with sev- simple random sampling,which replace a set of eral factors and outputs. In this method, it is series of actual samples (original sample);by not required to follow a certain default order using each pseudo sample a pseudo estimation so as to estimate the production function, and of pseudo efficiency score is obtained. These efficiency of a firm (decision making unit) is thousands pseudo estimates form an empirical measured relative to the efficiency of other distribution for estimator which is used as an firms (Cooper et al., 2006). Unfortunately, in estimate of the sampling distribution of the actual situation the maximum amount of output main population. International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, 2016. Agricultural Management and Development, 6(4): 475-487, December, International Journal of Figure 2: The first sample Figure 3: The second sample 477 Evaluation of Palm Groves Technical Efficiency / Zamanian and Khajeh Hassani Overall data generation process (DGP) and Yet, if efficiency