The determinants of technical efficiency of peach growers: evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study employed translog stochastic production frontier model to examine the technical efficiency and its determinants of peach farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Results of the study reveal that peach farmers displayed much variability in technical efficiency ranging from 64% to 95% with a mean technical efficiency of 81%, which suggested a substantial 19% of potential output can be recovered by removing inefficiency. For an agriculture based country like Pakistan, this gain could help increase income and ensure a better livelihood for the farmers. The results suggest that farmers' age, experience, education, membership, cellphone usage, livestock ownership, credit access, extension services, the role of non-government organization and soil quality perception have a positive influence on technical efficiency. In contrast, off-farm income, household size, price volatility perception, natural disaster risk perception, and weather shocks awareness have a negative influence on technical efficiency. Hence, the study proposed that technical efficiency of peach farmers can be increased by an appropriate choice of input combinations, improving the present level of inefficiency determinants and elimination of errors in the production process through efficient management practices.