Measuring technical efficiency of Thai rubber production using the three-stage data envelopment analysis

The study investigated the technical efficiency of rubber production in Thailand. Secondary data were collected from the Thai rubber plantations in four regions from 2005 to 2014 by using a three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. The DEA was used to evaluate the technical efficiency levels and to remove undesirable environmental impacts. Furthermore, the Malmquist productivity index was used to measure the changes in the rubber production efficiency and estimate the rubber productivity trend. The findings indicate that the efficiency scores obtained using adjusted inputs in stage 3 of the DEA approach were higher than the efficiency scores in stage 1 of the DEA approach. Moreover, the results also showed that the Northern region has the worst scores of technical efficiency and declination of productivity among the four regions. However, the technical performance of the Thai rubber production has shown a good performance, an upward productivity trend, and has demonstrated the advantages of the method used. Findings from the study could provide crucial information to farmers, the Thai government, and agricultural planners for formulating effective strategies or plans to improve their technology and efficiency levels.