Determination of technical efficiency in laying hen farms in Turkey: a case study of Hatay Province

This research was conducted in the province of Hatay, which hosts a concentrated trading activity comprising of maritime and road transport activities as well as border trade and which is strategically significant due to its geographical location. This research aims to calculate and evaluate the technical efficiency scores of laying hen farms established in Hatay province in southern Turkey. For this purpose, research data were collected from 22 poultry egg enterprises operating in the province of Hatay using the Census method. Research data were analyzed using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, which is often referred for the measurement of efficiency. Socio-economic factors affecting technical efficiency scores were determined using the Tobit Regression model. Mean technical efficiency score, in the analysis, was computed as 0.95 using DEA - Constant Return to Scale (CRS) and 0.98 using DEA -Variable Return to Scale (VRS). The poultry egg enterprises examined have been determined to produce the same level of output when reducing the inputs used in the current production technology by 5% and 3% respectively in accordance with the DEA-CRS and DEA-VRS approaches. Socio-economic variables that are thought to have a statistically significant effect on the efficiency scores of the poultry egg enterprises were determined as education level and experience of the farmer; i.e. it has been determined that farmers with a lower formal education level and more experienced farmers are tend to be more efficient. As a result, it has been concluded that poultry egg enterprises operating in Hatay province are working efficiently in terms of both input use and economies of scale. Inefficient enterprises have been determined to have higher costs and higher labor utilization rates. It can be suggested that the workforce should be better organized regarding the measures that should be taken to ensure the full efficiency of laying hen farms operating in poultry egg production industry. Based on the conclusion that more experienced farmers are more efficient although they have lower formal education levels, it is suggested that the efficiency of the poultry egg farmers may be scaled up by organizing training programs that will improve their level of knowledge.