Technical efficiency of almond farming in Mugla Province, Turkey: An application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis

The study aims to investigate the technical efficiency and determine the factors affecting inefficiency in almond farms in Mugla province, Turkey. For this aim, the stochastic frontier analysis approach is employed. The data were collected through surveys conducted by face-to-face interviews with 93 almond farmers in Mugla province, Turkey. It was determined that the average technical efficiency score is 94% for almond farmers in the sampled area. This result indicates that the average almond producer is highly efficient and can increase his output by another 6% by developing the use of his existing inputs without additional inputs. Furthermore, it was determined that the total number of almond trees owned by the farm and the average age of almond trees have a positive effect. However, the variable costs and almond area of the farm have a negative effect. According to Stochastic Frontier Analysis results, the farmers' age, education level, agricultural experience, experience in almond production and the number of the person in the family explain the inefficiency of the farmer in almond production. The farmers' age and the number of the person in the family have a negative effect while education level has a positive effect on efficiency. Also, according to the results, it is understood that the well-educated farmer will execute better and more advanced production systems than the less educated one. At the same time, higher experience in agricultural and/or almond production will result in higher efficiency. The results could be helpful to provide some beneficial suggestions for the policymakers and the producers. Furthermore, the study may conduce to project future research on a large scale.